Thank you for the great poll turnout folks. We had 238 individual voters rating the performances of the Buffalo Sabres after the game on Saturday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets.
The top three players should be no surprise, as they were the three stars of the game as well. Buffalo came from behind to beat the Jets 3-2 in the third period, with Fasching getting his first NHL goal, Reinhart battling in front of the net to tie the game, and then stealing the puck and laying it off for Eichel to laser home the winner.
| Evander Kane | 3.5 |
| Ryan O’Reilly | 3.5 |
| Nick Deslauriers | 2.8 |
| Zemgus Girgensons | 3.3 |
| Jack Eichel | 4.4 |
| Sam Reinhart | 4.8 |
| Marcus Foligno | 3.5 |
| Johan Larsson | 3.3 |
| Brian Gionta | 2.9 |
| Matt Moulson | 1.8 |
| David Legwand | 2.6 |
| Hudson Fasching | 4.1 |
| Josh Gorges | 3.1 |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | 3.8 |
| Jake McCabe | 3.0 |
| Zach Bogosian | 3.4 |
| Mark Pysysk | 3.3 |
| Casey Nelson | 3.4 |
| Chad Johnson | 3.3 |
#1 – Sam Reinhart, rating 4.8
On a scale of 1 being poor and 5 amazing and this many voters, it’s hard to score much higher than 4.8. Reino has really come into his own this season, shifting the spotlight off Eichel and proving himself to be a superstar in the making as well. The second overall pick in the 2014 draft had a goal and an assist on five shots, +2, 1 blocked shot and 3 takeaways in 15:31 of ice time.
#2 – Jack Eichel, rating 4.4
Eichel will Eichel, and we’re getting used to it now. The rookie hit the 50 point mark with a snipe to win the game. Pairing him and Reinhart has really worked out well so far and getting them a power forward at left wing will take this line to an elite level. Jack also ended up +2, with one goal on two shots, 1 hit and 2 takeaways in 17:33 minutes.
#3 – Hudson Fasching, rating 4.1
For a player making his first ever NHL appearance, he did not look at all out of place. His goal really was a thing of beauty as he drove past Jacob Trouba, no slouch of a defenseman, and then slotted home. Fasching started the game on the fourth line but was called up to the top line for the third period. He ended up +1 with two shots, with 1 giveaway and 1 takeaway in 12:02. Dan Bylsma mentioned that he could have played more minutes in the middle period, but the parade of players into the penalty box kept him off the ice.
Image courtesy of Buffalo Sabres
So what do you think of this format of player ratings? What would you like to see different? Chime in with your comments. Please vote in the poll below to choose what ratings format to use for tonight’s game.
What player performance ratings format should DBTB use for the Sabres game tonight?
| Ranker Thumbs Up/Down | 32 |
| Google Forms 1-5 Rating | 131 |