What to make of the Buffalo Sabres’ early play
The Buffalo Sabres blew the gates open this season and didn’t get off to the start they wanted, but after a few games, it seems the Sabres are turning it around and rejuvenating themselves. Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHLer Colby Cohen discuss the Sabres’ early play and if they are believers in this young squad.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s head out East to the Buffalo Sabres, where they look like they are starting to heat up; they’ve won two of their last three and are coming off a big 4-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche. An interesting start to the year as it was one of those teams lumped into groups with Ottawa and Detroit of young teams to take a step forward. While Buffalo didn’t have the best start, now it looks like they’re putting it together; Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gets a shutout in their last game. Last week, I ripped their stars. Guys like Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch were off to really slow starts, and now coach Granato has taken a totally different approach. He took the line of Tage, Skinner and Tuch and split them up, and the results seem to be working with this new balanced lineup. So, Colby, are you a believer in this Sabres team?
Colby Cohen: I’m just not. I’m a believer they’ll score a lot of goals this year and that they should be excited and will take that next step forward. But I look at their lineup, who’s heavy and who’s really hard to play against in that lineup, who’s going to defend the house? You know, obviously, their forward group is very skilled, a guy like Tage is there, Mittelstadt can score, and Cozens got a big new contract. I’ve always liked Alex Tuch; I feel like he has the ability to be a heavy two-way player, a guy that’s hard to play against for the other team’s defense.
Colby Cohen: But at the end of the day, as a defenseman, you’d rather play against skill than a heavy man, honestly. I think it’s more exhausting as a defenseman to get grinded down throughout a game, a team that’s going to make you turn to get the puck, constantly finish hits, and make really difficult defensive plays. There’s no lack of skill on this team either on the backend. Tyler, look at those studs. But even those studs, who is heavy? Dahlin is smooth, Samuelsson is a good two-way guy, Power can play, he’s learning the game from the backend, and Jokiharju is another guy who is not heavy. You’ve got Jacob Bryson, a college guy who’s a smooth skater and can move the puck and then Erik Johnson, who’s been in the league a long time; you could make a case he’s your heavy defenseman. When I say “heavy,” I’m not talking about weight; I’m talking about guys who lean on you, beat you up, and make it hard for you to score. I just don’t see it. Their goaltending is unproven; Devon Levi has been injured, so we don’t know what we’re getting with him. I personally think he needs time in the AHL, and then you have a rotation going. It’s not that I’m not a believer; I just don’t see them being a serious playoff team.
You can watch the full episode here…