Game Info
Buffalo Sabres (13-16-3) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (10-17-5)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo NY
TV: MSG
Radio: WGR-550
Know Your Opponent
Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 10-17-5
Last Game: Lost 6-3 vs Devils
Division Ranking: 8th, Metropolitan Division
PP: 25th, 15.4%
PK: 7th, 84.3%
What to Watch
1. Welcome Back, Jack!
Injuries and indifferent form have played their part in the Sabres sluggish start to the season, but the season debut of Jack Quinn should be the injection of talent the offense so desperately needs. The youngster had 37 points in 75 games last season, starting strong early on with the “Kid Line,” got a bit lost in the middle, but then found his stride again during the latter half, especially after the All-Star break.
Quinn played a critical role for the Sabres late last season when Alex Tuch went down injured, and that is what makes his return interesting – will Don Granato start him off on a lower line before throwing him on the top line? The coach confirmed this morning that Quinn would be playing tonight, as is Tuch.
2. Hello Sleepyheads
When you don’t have much offensive firepower, and your defense is often dodgy, then the best you can and should do is give maximum effort. Well, that pretty much describes the Buffalo Sabres this season, until that last line. Don Granato’s boys often look like they’re sleepwalking through games – that one minute sequence in Colorado leading to an Avs goal when they had about seventy four chances to clear the puck out of their zone and didn’t is not an anomaly.
We’ve complained often that by the time the Sabres get settled in games the bird has flown the coop is actually confirmed by the advanced stats as well. Look at the graphic below, they start the game like sh*t, spend the second period trying to catch up and then rally somewhat weakly in the third. Might get away with that in peewee hockey, but not against the big boys.
That said, Columbus appears to be an utterly abysmal third period team (don’t get me started on Chicago and San Jose’s chartbreaking antics) and even if the Sabres spot them a lead tonight, the data says they should be able to come back strong late on. Helps that Patrik Laine should miss this one as he is still out injured – he’s bagged six points in his last four games against Buffalo, and seems a sure bet to always score against us.
3. Devon Is Back
The young goalie has been playing like a man possessed since his little ‘conditioning stint’ down in Rochester. The three-headed goalie monster looked to have finally been settled in the end of November with Levi going to the Amerks, but a combination of injuries and illness meant a call back up to the big league for the youngster, and boy has he been on fire since then.
For those keeping track, that’s three wins and an overtime loss with 114 saves on 121 shots, a save percentage of .941 – the Sabres will win on most nights if he keeps replicating those numbers. While it’s unrealistic to expect a goaltender straight out of college to maintain that level of performance throughout a whole season playing more games than he would ever have at the collegiate level, balancing Levi’s load and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen playing well would give GM Kevyn Adams the option to trade away Eric Comrie as well. Psst, the Los Angeles Kings are in the market for a lightly-used back-up replacement level goalie, just saying.
For more on the Blue Jackets, check out The Cannon.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Zach Benson – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Casey Mittelstadt – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka
Victor Olofsson – Tyson Jost – Jack Quinn
Eric Robinson – Peyton Krebs – Kyle Okposo
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Erik Johnson – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders: Devon Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Columbus Blue Jackets
Forwards
Kirill Marchenko – Dmitri Voronkov – Yegor Chinakhov
Emil Bemstrom – Cole Sillinger – Kent Johnson
Johnny Gaudreau – Adam Fantilli – Justin Danforth
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Defense
Zach Werenski – Erik Gudbranson
Ivan Provorov – Andrew Peeke
David Jiricek – Nick Blankenburg
Goaltenders: Elvis Merzlikins, Daniil Tarasov