Buffalo Sabres: Early returns show inserting Tyson Jost was the right call

The Buffalo Sabres most noticeable lineup change in last night’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning involved Tyson Jost’s season debut.

Last year, we learned Tyson Jost was a better hockey player than many gave him credit for, and it showed in last night’s big win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sure, the Buffalo Sabres still have some serious issues to work out, but they may have resolved one of them on Tuesday by playing Jost and sitting the ailing Victor Olofsson.

Last night, the Blue and Gold’s fourth line looked great after they struggled to get anything going in their previous two outings. It was something I mentioned in my burning questions piece, with Peyton Krebs pacing the group with an 83.3 on-ice save percentage (oiSV) at 5-on-5. Krebs, however, found time on the second line, while Jost immediately gave the Sabres a boost on the fourth.

Jost finished the game with a point, a plus-1 rating, two hits, and three shots on goal in just 11:24 of ice time. The respected site Hockey Stat Cards also noted that Jost enjoyed the fourth-highest impact of all Sabres players last night, sitting behind only Zemgus Girgensons, Jeff Skinner, and Owen Power.

Buffalo Sabres made the right decision to sit Victor Olofsson last night

In the first two games of the year, Olofsson’s overall lack of impact was noticeable, and if you’re interested in them, here are a few possession metrics at 5-on-5 regarding the 28-year-old through the season’s first two games:

• 36.1 percent Corsi For
• 34.6 percent Fenwick For
• 0.0 on-ice shooting percentage with Olofsson on the ice
• 85.7 percent save percentage with Olofsson on the ice
• 26.7 percent of all starts occurred in the offensive zone

Source: Hockey-Reference

This piece just touches the tip of a larger iceberg, but the small sample size of metrics I shared compared to what Jost accomplished should be more than enough for any Sabres fan to endorse the switch. Sure, Jost played on the fourth line and Peyton Krebs took Olofsson’s spot, but so far, the Buffalo Sabres are one-for-one.

We’ll wait and see if Krebs takes advantage of the opportunity, though he did stand out defensively as the game wore on last night. Krebs should remain at winger on the second line for at least the rest of the week, and if he proves to mesh well with JJ Peterka and Dylan Cozens, then keep him there.