After the 0-3 start many people would’ve believed that we would need to rely on the top six to really get this group going but realistically and quietly it’s been the bottom six that has been putting in the legwork to get this team to where it needs to be
Now, don’t get me wrong. The addition of Doan has been probably the best outcome so far, Kulich seems to have great chemistry with his first line mates, and the second line is solid, but this bottom six has been making the quiet plays over and over again. Hitting in the corners, keeping pucks in the zone, winning puck battles on the wall, grinding down the opponent.
You can see the impact that Tyson Kozak has out there on the ice. Beck Malenstyn slowly has been putting in good shift after good shift, doing the small things. Even the call-ups of Dunne and Ostland have been decent.
While the Buffalo Sabres are in a very similar spot, the same spot points wise that they have been for the past six years, this year just feels a little different. Previously they have had one maybe two lines that they truly relied on and then your third and fourth line was a liability when it’s out there, but this year, it really feels like all four lines are reliable and can get things going.
While starting this year 4-4-2 and honestly, their three big guns Thompson, Tuck and Dahlin are not having the best of starts when it comes to point production, now with Thompson and Tuch seeming like they’re finally getting going, They’re still in a pretty good spot. It never feels like they’re truly out of the game. They did take two games to overtime and while ultimately they still lost, they were still in it to the very end. Lindy Ruff mentioned that in previous years, they probably would’ve just fell apart in the third period and not even made it to overtime.
This team really does feel like they are in every single game and I think that’s a big credit to your bottom six grinding down teams.
While it’s still early in the year and your number one center is still out for quite some time the Sabres are slowly and cautiously optimistically starting to put together a winning formula.
Let’s hope this injury bug of the Sabres finally stops biting, your big guns can keep moving in the right direction, and your bottom six keeps grinding and we might just see a playoff contention come towards March!
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