While Halloween might be over, the Buffalo Sabres might have one more scare for their fans if this is the line they are going with against the Washington Capitals. There is no question that injuries have limited the Sabres' options this season, as Zach Benson now joins Josh Norris, Tyson Kozak, and Justin Danforth on injured reserve.
The team placed Benson on injured reserve on Friday and called up Isak Rosen. There was no question that Rosen would not directly replace Benson in the lineup, and some shuffling was expected.
At the time, the most logical solution would be to move Jason Zucker up, where he played some earlier this season, and keep Jiri Kulich alongside Tage Thompson. If the morning practice lines for the forwards are what they use in the game against the Washington Capitals, it will certainly spook Sabres fans.
Jordan Greenway at center on the Buffalo Sabres top line
Against the Boston Bruins, the Sabres got Jordan Greenway back, and he made his season debut. However, he didn't make it at wing but rather center, a position he hasn't played much (if at all) in his NHL career.
Prior to this season, Greenway has taken only 300 faceoffs in his career and the most was 81 back in 2018-19. In the game against the Bruins, Greenway had four faceoffs and won two of them.
There is no question that the Sabres have been awful at faceoffs this season and rank last at only 42%. The idea that they are going to put an inexperienced player on faceoffs for the top line like Greenway doesn't make a lot of sense.
Buffalo Sabres might have had no other choice based on the other lines
There really is only one logical reason for Jordan Greenway playing center on this line, and it could be they didn't want to change the other lines. On the second line, it has been Josh Doan-Ryan McLeod-Alex Tuch, which has been one of the best lines in all of the NHL in terms of xGoals % according to MoneyPuck.
The fourth line has also played pretty well as of late with Beck Malenstyn-Peyton Krebs-Josh Dunne in terms of controlling the puck and matching up well against the opposing team's top line. The biggest change has been on the third line with Isak Rosen-Jiri Kulich-Jack Quinn skating together, and the team could have gone with this line due to their familiarity playing together in Rochester.
If this is the thought process, then that only leaves Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway to play with Tage Thompson. These three could be fine together, but why not move Thompson to center and keep Greenway on the wing? It is certainly an interesting decision, and if these are the lines they want to use, the coaching staff has to be ready to make changes early in the game if it isn't working.