Buffalo Sabres: 3 burning questions for Week 2 in 2023-24
Heading into Week 2, the Buffalo Sabres are facing quite a few burning questions as they gear up to face the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.
Earlier today, I openly wondered whether the Tage Thompson line would get going against a Tampa Bay Lightning team missing its star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. But that wasn’t the only burning question on my mind heading into Week 2, as the Blue and Gold saw several surprises (the good, and the bad) across their first two games of the year.
The Casey Mittelstadt line, which also includes Zach Benson and Jordan Greenway, was magnificent. And tonight serves as their first test of whether they will keep up their aggressive pace. Other than the Mittelstadt line, Buffalo struggled offensively, so we’ll see if they as a unit can take advantage of weaker goaltending. The Peyton Krebs line, however, is known for its strong defense. But we didn’t see it last week, so will that change starting tonight?
3 burning questions for the Buffalo Sabres heading into Week 2
1 – Will the Mittelstadt line continue to hold?
How good has the Mittelstadt line been throughout the Sabres first two games of the season? We know they put up five points so far, but when you check out their advanced statistics, it’s rather mind-boggling. At even-strength, Zach Benson has a Corsi For Percentage (CF%) of 57.1, followed by Mittelstadt, who sits at 56.4. Tage Thompson is third in that category, but Jordan Greenway is No. 4, at 55.6.
The Fenwick has Mittelstadt at No. 1, Benson at No. 2, and Greenway at No. 4, so there is very little deviation here. Mittelstadt is once again showing his gritty side as, despite committing three giveaways (an issue he had at the beginning of last year too), he’s also pacing the team with four takeaways.
In short, it’s clear that strong defensive teams like the New York Rangers and Islanders couldn’t find an answer in stopping this trio. And with their own good defense to match, the Mittelstadt line should make life tough for all three opponents this week.
2 – Can the Sabres take advantage of weak goaltending and/or defense?
The Buffalo Sabres could have a field day tonight when they square off vs. the Lightning, with either Jonas Johansson or Mark Tomkins lining up in the net. Johansson has played two games and he could be the 1A until Vasilevsky returns, but so far, he’s struggled, posting a 0.889 save percentage and 4.09 GAA.
Tomkins has similar numbers, and despite his age (29), he is just coming off of his NHL debut. For a Sabres team that struggled to find twine through the season’s first 120 minutes, they have a fine opportunity in front of them regardless of who’s in the net, but they must step up and take advantage.
In three starts this season, Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames has a 0.898 save percentage, but his 2.96 GAA and two quality starts are nothing to scoff at. However, Markstrom has faced 88 shots on goal, or 29.33 per game, indicating struggles early on for Calgary’s defense. Once again, the Buffalo Sabres are in a good position here to get going offensively.
3 – Will the Krebs (or Jost) line find its defensive prowess?
In my bold predictions piece yesterday, I wrote that the Buffalo Sabres fourth line, or the Krebs line, would snag a 92 percent on-ice save percentage. Ultra bold, right? Anyway, to be clearer, it means Peyton Krebs, Zemgus Girgensons, and Kyle Okposo will individually log 92 percent or better in that category both as a unit, and as individuals.
But, that also means they need to collectively fare better when they’re on the ice since as it stands, the Sabres save percentage (oiSV) at even strength sits at just 83.3 with Krebs on the ice, and it’s even lower for Okposo and Girgensons. Sitting at 80.0 percent, Girgensons has the worst oiSV of the group, a far cry from the 92.0 at even strength, but he still has plenty of time to turn it around.
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Okposo and Krebs sat at 90.9 and 90.3, respectively, in the same category and situation. The good news is that it’s only been two games, but with the Lightning sitting seventh in the league in goals for, and the Flames not far behind in 12th, these next two matchups should serve as a test for the trio.
Note: With Peyton Krebs currently skating on the Cozens line in practice, Tyson Jost is centering Okposo and Girgensons as of 11 a.m. Tuesday. So this may be the Jost line this week!
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)