Buffalo Sabres: 3 burning questions for Week 2 in 2023-24
By Sion Fawkes
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)