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Buffalo Sabres Gameday HQ

Goaltending The Sabres goaltending situation is unsettled. They traded long-time goaltender Ryan Miller to the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline and then quickly dealt goalie Jaroslav Halak, who they received in return for Miller, to the Washington Capitals for Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth played in just two games for the Sabres before being shut down at the end of the season. He’s put up pedestrian numbers in his six NHL seasons, posting a 2.67 GAA and .910 save percentage, and it’s tough to see the 26-year old developing into a franchise goalie. Jhonas Enroth played 28 games for the Sabres last year but he did not excel either. He posted a 2.82 GAA and a .911 save percentage while the Sabres won just four of those 28 games. The end of the season saw a goalie rotation that included Matt Hackett and Nathan Lieuwen. Twenty-one year old Andrey Makarov was also called up from the ECHL but did not see any ice time. All five guys will be in the mix, but Neuvirth and Enroth should see most of the time in net. Power Play With their offensive struggles, it’s no surprise that the Sabres were near the bottom of the league in power-play percentage. They converted on just 36 of their 256 man advantages, and that 14.1 percent conversion rate was second-to-last in the NHL. They also allowed five shorthanded goals. Hodgson had a good season leading the Sabres’ power play, as he finished tied for 21st in the NHL with nine power-play goals. And a full season of Matt Moulson, who also scored nine power-play goals, will bolster the unit. One of the team’s most prolific scorers, Steve Ott, was traded at the deadline. He scored six power-play goals in his 59 goals with the team. But hope is that youngReinhart will fill the void. Reinhart scored twelve of his 36 goals with the WHL Kootenay Ice on the power-play. But at 18-years-old, it’s unclear how much time he will spend with the NHL club. The team also got little production from the blue line. The team’s defensemen scored just six goals on the power-play with three of them coming off the stick of Myers. Penalty Kill The Sabres penalty Matt Moulson Bill Wippert/NHL/Getty Images kill was a bright spot for the team. Their 51 power-play goals allowed ranked eighth in the league, although their 81.4 percent penalty-killing percentage ranked just 20th. Young Girgensons showed promise on the unit and should see time alongside Drew Stafford and Marcus Foligno. The losses of Ehrhoff and Matt D’Agostino will force some of the other Sabres to take on their ice time, especially on special teams. But it will give an opportunity to Ennis and Myers to take a bigger leadership role on the club. Three Questions 1. Where will the offense come from? In order for the Sabres to improve on last year’s last place finish, they need to find some offense. Their first-round draft pick, Sam Reinhart, could force his way onto the roster and the team added Brian Gionta for veteran leadership in the forwards. But without a major leap by players like Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson and Zemgus Girgensons more scoring is unlikely. 2. What are the Sabres plans going forward? Most spectators expected the Sabres to tank this year and put themselves in position to draft Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, but they went on a bit of a spending spree bringing in Gionta, Matt Moulson and Josh Gorges. The new NHL draft lottery rules may have played an affect on their plans, but they were not put into place until the end of the offseason. The Sabres don’t want to end up in no man’s land where they aren’t good enough to reach the playoffs but not bad enough to get a coveted draft pick. 3. Which young Sabres prospects will step up this season? Zemgus Girgensons and Rasmus Ristolainen made impressive showings last season and should contribute to the team once again. On top of that Nikita Zadorov, Jake McCabe and even Mikhail Grigorenko could make a mark on this team. To top it all off, Reinhart is one of the best offensive prospects in the world and has impact-making talent. Prediction It will be another rebuilding year in Buffalo, but there is some hope for the Sabres. They brought in a solid group of veterans to go with their young core. It will be easier to watch the Sabres this year, but they still won’t win many games.


Buffalo Sabres Gameday HQ
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