Home
Christmas break thoughts on Sabres defesemen and goalies
After laying down a brief summation of the forwards to this point in the season yesterday, it's time to direct our attention to those who play below the blueline. A quick reminder, the Sabres headed into the Christmas break with a 12-13-8 record good for 32 points which is one point ahead of last year's team after 33 games.
It should also be noted that injuries have hit the d-corps to the point where Buffalo elected to call up a defenseman from the CHL's Western Hockey League when it was at it's worst. Things are back to normal and it should also be noted that the Sabres' 2.61 goals against average is tied for 11th in the league.
Defensemen
Rasmus Ristolainen--Whoever stated through advanced stats that the Sabres would be better off without Ristolainen is eating a huge plate of crow right now. Statistics are what they are but if you've watched Ristolainen's development it's been upward and steady. He continues to eat up minutes nearly reaching Duncan Keith levels (26:35/game) and is on pace for a 60-point season. His minus-4 rating isn't the greatest but he's been minus-3 the last few games while being paired with a less than ideal d-partner. Good thing advanced stats aren't the sole consideration for Norris Trophy nominations otherwise Ristolainen and Norris wouldn't be mentioned in the same book, much less the same sentence.
Jake McCabe--McCabe was Ristolainen's d-partner up until recently when head coach Dan Bylsma inexplicably split them up. Maybe he wanted to distribute the talent more evenly amongst the d-corps? Who knows? But McCabe has shown the capacity to hold the fort on the top-pairing and should remain there. The 23 yr. old keeps pushing his own envelope playing as hard and as fast as he possibly can. In doing so he’s prone to mistakes, but all-in-all McCabe continues to make great strides in only his second full NHL season. Love his aggressiveness as he stands players up all over the ice and love the fact that no matter what happens, he's in overdrive going right back at it.
Dmitry Kulikov--Is the player alluded to above as Ristolainen's less than ideal d-partner. In fact, the problem that Bylsma's having is that Kulikov is nobody's ideal d-partner at this juncture. Kulikov has the size, skating and tools, but he roams around like a free electron out there and often times is way out of position. That's really not the ideal for a defenseman who's second on the team in ATOI at 22:18/game. Kulikov shouldn't be paired with Risto and right now he may be a disaster waiting to happen with Zach Bogosian or Cody Franson. Hopefully things will stabilize with him but until that happens, Bylsma will need to lessen the negative impact Kulkiov has had on the team so far.
Zach Bogosian--Bogosian suffered an MCL injury that kept him out the lineup for a month and a half. It looks as if the big 26 yr. old will need some time to get up to speed, as shown by his minus-4 rating in four games since his return, but he's been around long enough to at least hold the fort no matter who his d-partner is, except for, maybe, Kulikov. Bogosian is a No. 3 on the Sabres but is probably a No. 4/5 on most teams in the NHL and despite analytics showing a negative side, his physicality and speed from the back-end are necessities in Buffalo right now.
Josh Gorges--Still a favorite whipping boy amongst the Sabres faithful despite solid play in a role that keeps him in the bottom half of the corps. Gorges has been playing very well in a third-pairing/top-PK unit role while leaning heavy on the star players he's up against. At 32 yrs. old and with a lot of wear and tear on his body, it seems like a perfect role for Gorges and with his experience the Sabres have themselves a strong complimentary defensive defenseman. His $3.9 million salary is a bit steep but it will have to do for now.
Cody Franson--Franson has been playing much better this season, especially when given more minutes when Bogosian and Kulikov were sidelined simultaneously. In fact, he's been impressive at times. That said, he's very slow and has a tendency to have his shots from the point blocked quite a bit. Often times as I watch him play he looks as if he's very analytics-conscious and that the things he does are primarily to pad his fancy stats. Although I might be exaggerating a bit, his shots are many and weak (save for his one goal which was scored with authority) and his prodding pace gives him the opportunity to make the safest pass which keeps those numbers up.
Justin Falk--Although his big, bruising game is somewhat archaic, I like what he brings to the table. At 6'5" 222 lbs. he is a bruiser and when asked to hold the fort along with Taylor Fedun, his Rochester Americans d-partner, they did quite well all things considered. Falk is still in the lineup due to a Franson injury and to be honest, he'd be a much better choice on the third pairing than Kulikov would be at this time. Dependent upon what Murray wants to do with a poor Rochester club this season, Falk could either go the Amerks and help them out or stay with the big club as a ready d-man.
Taylor Fedun--Was a pleasant surprise as an call-up for the Sabres. Fedun came back down to earth a bit after he debuted with a three-game point streak, but his skating and puck-moving never waned. Whether he's a late-bloomer or not, the 28 yr. old made a very good impression. Too bad he got injured.
Casey Nelson--Nelson showed he's not ready for the NHL. It's about the only way it can be said. Not sure where his AHL seasoning will lead him, or how long it will take for him to be ready for Sabres' duty, but we found out that it won't be this season.
Brendan Guhle--Guhle's back in Junior after his three-game emergency call-up back in November. Most feel as if he should have made the team instead of Nelson and in hindsight, that would be correct. Having said that, I think one more year in Junior will do wonders for what should be a very long and productive career. Right now he's projected as a second-pairing defenseman, but from what we've seen so far--in Rochester last season and in Buffalo this season--he may have a little more than that to offer.
Goalies
Robin Lehner--I'm gonna type this word, and as I do, Sabreland will shiver after reading it--shootouts. Lehner is not good at them, at least to this point in his career. For a guy who is (still) as intense as anyone out there one would think that he wouldn't be intimidated by much of anything. It's a huge mental hurdle he'll need to overcome, but other than that, his 2.45 GAA and .921 Sv% are much more solid than his 7-10-5 record would indicate. Will always have to live up to the first round pick Murray gave up for him and it may take some time.
Anders Nilsson--After beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in the shootout, Nilsson was heir apparent to former goalie Jonas Enroth's "Truth" moniker. Nilsson has played well at times but has also had strong goal support from the skaters. He has a 5-3-3 record with a 2.47 GAA and .925 Sv%. Nilsson's play has declined steadily and in his last performance against the NY Islanders, he looked like a career back-up or worse.
The long season has a way of evening things out so past results are not indicative of what the future might hold. For the Sabres and individual players as well it was a rough 33 games. Hopefully the future will be brighter.
After laying down a brief summation of the forwards to this point in the season yesterday, it's time to direct our attention to those who play below the blueline. A quick reminder, the Sabres headed into the Christmas break with a 12-13-8 record good for 32 points which is one point ahead of last year's team after 33 games.
It should also be noted that injuries have hit the d-corps to the point where Buffalo elected to call up a defenseman from the CHL's Western Hockey League when it was at it's worst. Things are back to normal and it should also be noted that the Sabres' 2.61 goals against average is tied for 11th in the league.
Defensemen
Rasmus Ristolainen--Whoever stated through advanced stats that the Sabres would be better off without Ristolainen is eating a huge plate of crow right now. Statistics are what they are but if you've watched Ristolainen's development it's been upward and steady. He continues to eat up minutes nearly reaching Duncan Keith levels (26:35/game) and is on pace for a 60-point season. His minus-4 rating isn't the greatest but he's been minus-3 the last few games while being paired with a less than ideal d-partner. Good thing advanced stats aren't the sole consideration for Norris Trophy nominations otherwise Ristolainen and Norris wouldn't be mentioned in the same book, much less the same sentence.
Jake McCabe--McCabe was Ristolainen's d-partner up until recently when head coach Dan Bylsma inexplicably split them up. Maybe he wanted to distribute the talent more evenly amongst the d-corps? Who knows? But McCabe has shown the capacity to hold the fort on the top-pairing and should remain there. The 23 yr. old keeps pushing his own envelope playing as hard and as fast as he possibly can. In doing so he’s prone to mistakes, but all-in-all McCabe continues to make great strides in only his second full NHL season. Love his aggressiveness as he stands players up all over the ice and love the fact that no matter what happens, he's in overdrive going right back at it.
Dmitry Kulikov--Is the player alluded to above as Ristolainen's less than ideal d-partner. In fact, the problem that Bylsma's having is that Kulikov is nobody's ideal d-partner at this juncture. Kulikov has the size, skating and tools, but he roams around like a free electron out there and often times is way out of position. That's really not the ideal for a defenseman who's second on the team in ATOI at 22:18/game. Kulikov shouldn't be paired with Risto and right now he may be a disaster waiting to happen with Zach Bogosian or Cody Franson. Hopefully things will stabilize with him but until that happens, Bylsma will need to lessen the negative impact Kulkiov has had on the team so far.
Zach Bogosian--Bogosian suffered an MCL injury that kept him out the lineup for a month and a half. It looks as if the big 26 yr. old will need some time to get up to speed, as shown by his minus-4 rating in four games since his return, but he's been around long enough to at least hold the fort no matter who his d-partner is, except for, maybe, Kulikov. Bogosian is a No. 3 on the Sabres but is probably a No. 4/5 on most teams in the NHL and despite analytics showing a negative side, his physicality and speed from the back-end are necessities in Buffalo right now.
Josh Gorges--Still a favorite whipping boy amongst the Sabres faithful despite solid play in a role that keeps him in the bottom half of the corps. Gorges has been playing very well in a third-pairing/top-PK unit role while leaning heavy on the star players he's up against. At 32 yrs. old and with a lot of wear and tear on his body, it seems like a perfect role for Gorges and with his experience the Sabres have themselves a strong complimentary defensive defenseman. His $3.9 million salary is a bit steep but it will have to do for now.
Cody Franson--Franson has been playing much better this season, especially when given more minutes when Bogosian and Kulikov were sidelined simultaneously. In fact, he's been impressive at times. That said, he's very slow and has a tendency to have his shots from the point blocked quite a bit. Often times as I watch him play he looks as if he's very analytics-conscious and that the things he does are primarily to pad his fancy stats. Although I might be exaggerating a bit, his shots are many and weak (save for his one goal which was scored with authority) and his prodding pace gives him the opportunity to make the safest pass which keeps those numbers up.
Justin Falk--Although his big, bruising game is somewhat archaic, I like what he brings to the table. At 6'5" 222 lbs. he is a bruiser and when asked to hold the fort along with Taylor Fedun, his Rochester Americans d-partner, they did quite well all things considered. Falk is still in the lineup due to a Franson injury and to be honest, he'd be a much better choice on the third pairing than Kulikov would be at this time. Dependent upon what Murray wants to do with a poor Rochester club this season, Falk could either go the Amerks and help them out or stay with the big club as a ready d-man.
Taylor Fedun--Was a pleasant surprise as an call-up for the Sabres. Fedun came back down to earth a bit after he debuted with a three-game point streak, but his skating and puck-moving never waned. Whether he's a late-bloomer or not, the 28 yr. old made a very good impression. Too bad he got injured.
Casey Nelson--Nelson showed he's not ready for the NHL. It's about the only way it can be said. Not sure where his AHL seasoning will lead him, or how long it will take for him to be ready for Sabres' duty, but we found out that it won't be this season.
Brendan Guhle--Guhle's back in Junior after his three-game emergency call-up back in November. Most feel as if he should have made the team instead of Nelson and in hindsight, that would be correct. Having said that, I think one more year in Junior will do wonders for what should be a very long and productive career. Right now he's projected as a second-pairing defenseman, but from what we've seen so far--in Rochester last season and in Buffalo this season--he may have a little more than that to offer.
Goalies
Robin Lehner--I'm gonna type this word, and as I do, Sabreland will shiver after reading it--shootouts. Lehner is not good at them, at least to this point in his career. For a guy who is (still) as intense as anyone out there one would think that he wouldn't be intimidated by much of anything. It's a huge mental hurdle he'll need to overcome, but other than that, his 2.45 GAA and .921 Sv% are much more solid than his 7-10-5 record would indicate. Will always have to live up to the first round pick Murray gave up for him and it may take some time.
Anders Nilsson--After beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in the shootout, Nilsson was heir apparent to former goalie Jonas Enroth's "Truth" moniker. Nilsson has played well at times but has also had strong goal support from the skaters. He has a 5-3-3 record with a 2.47 GAA and .925 Sv%. Nilsson's play has declined steadily and in his last performance against the NY Islanders, he looked like a career back-up or worse.
The long season has a way of evening things out so past results are not indicative of what the future might hold. For the Sabres and individual players as well it was a rough 33 games. Hopefully the future will be brighter.
» Elon Musk obliges Trump, reconnects disaster areas to the internet for free via Starlink
» utube 10/1/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar News - Iraqi Stock Exchange - Private Sector - Water - Infrastructure
» utube 10/3/24 MM&C Iraq Update-Iraq Securities Exchange- Transform Iraq-Export Oil - Federal Co
» MM&C 10/3/24 Amending the Oil Law: A Step Towards Reform or Just Another Promise?
» In less than half an hour, Washington sends three messages via Baghdad to Tehran
» "Soon" .. Iraqi-Kuwaiti negotiations to resume to end differences
» On the seventh anniversary of Talabani’s passing, Al-Sudani recalls his national legacy and his role
» Planning: The general census will show the rates of enrolment in education and unemployment.
» Economist: Zionist bombing exacerbates economic conditions, calls for urgent intervention by governm
» Iraq, Kuwait to resume negotiations "very soon" to resolve outstanding issues
» Iraq and China take the largest share of Iranian goods
» Advisor Mazhar Saleh: No concern about Iraq's financial situation
» Amidst the Storms: Baghdad and Washington Support Regional Calm
» MP reveals reasons for delaying the approval of the Personal Status Law
» Al-Surji: The Union is capable of forming the next regional government
» Government measures to control the region's import of gold
» Central Bank comments on preparing the budget for next year
» Anbar citizens threaten to demonstrate over private generator pricing
» Dollar trading halted in Anbar due to high exchange rate
» Iraqi Parliament Prepares to Pass “Most Important” Law to Recover State Funds from Corrupt People
» World Bank identifies key issue for sustainable development in Iraq
» World Bank: Iraq has taken steps to develop human capital
» Electricity: Loss of 7,100 megawatts due to a decrease in the release of national gas and the supply
» Work: Issuing more than 220 thousand national cards for those covered by social protection
» France: Recommendation to eliminate 100,000 jobs to reduce government spending
» Iraq, Turkey sign MoU on migration and voluntary return
» Al Mazrouei: The world needs additional investments in the energy sector
» Agriculture announces compensation for livestock farmers’ losses, plans to control diseases
» Moscow advises its citizens not to travel to a country neighboring Iraq
» Holidays cost Iraq 34 trillion dinars annually!
» OPEC awaits global production estimates to confirm Iraq's compliance
» This is why oil traders are betting on it rising to $100
» Why are the social protection amounts not released for the current month?
» Baghdad and Washington discuss the need to protect sea lanes to ensure the export of Iraqi oil
» Iraq and the United Arab Emirates review procedures for judicial assistance files to recover persons
» Parliamentary-governmental meeting to discuss double taxation avoidance agreements
» Iraq and the United States stress the need for a ceasefire in the region and resolving crises throug
» Al-Mandlawi: The late President Talabani was keen, after the change, to play an honorable role in al
» The Iraqi-Turkish Joint Planning Group discusses the framework agreement concluded following Erdogan
» Baghdad and Washington discuss enhancing joint cooperation in the fields of energy, oil and economy
» Malekshahi: Successive regional governments faced local and regional difficulties and pressures
» Kurdistan: Starting to pay August salaries to employees tomorrow, Friday
» Iraq and America agree on the need for calm and not to expand the circle of conflict in the Middle E
» Dollar storm hits local markets.. Only half a point left for 155 thousand - Urgent
» "Serious and significant" economic risks await Iraq if it becomes involved in the Iran-Israel confli
» Total 140 days.. Financial costs of holidays in Iraq
» Within (8) months: The Al-Abbas’s Holy Shrine spends about (7) billion dinars on reducing the costs
» After "Noon News Agency" published its most important needs: Karbala Council forms a group of commit
» Government moves to build 6 new refineries
» Civil Service Council: Creating 6,000 job positions
» A project worth 16 billion dinars was seized by the Integrity Commission in Kirkuk
» Al-Sudani orders suspension of work tomorrow, Thursday, and confirms that the region is entering a d
» In two separate calls with Sisi and the Jordanian monarch...the Prime Minister stresses the importan
» Transport: Completion of preliminary designs for the railway line and topographic survey of the deve
» Salaries are secured.. Finance Committee: Discussing 2025 budget schedules to begin next month
» Ports announces completion of work on the five berths project at the Grand Faw Port
» Contrary to the instructions, the Integrity Commission monitors violations in the implementation of
» The dollar exceeds 153 against the Iraqi dinar
» Parliamentary Committee Reveals "Exciting" Details Concerning Border Crossings
» The cost of "unofficial" holidays in Iraq is equivalent to the Syrian budget!
» "Eagerly waiting" OPEC awaits global production estimates to confirm Iraq's commitment
» Dollar prices against the dinar in the Iraqi markets today
» National Day.. 92 years since Iraq acquired the “components of a state” as the first recognized Arab
» "He uses American companies and does not pay them" .. American court ruling shows the importance of
» Unprecedented’: Retired Border Patrol Chief Blows Whistle on How Biden-Harris Admin Hid Border Crisi
» Two new rounds of oil and gas investment
» Securities Commission: A strategy to transform Iraq into a regional investment center
» Political alliance talks about deciding the parliament presidency
» US forces hinder Iraqi forces' pursuit of ISIS
» Foreign Relations renews its call to preserve Iraq's sovereignty
» Abdul Wahid: Two ruling families seized the salaries of the region’s employees
» End of the state of alert among security formations in Iraq
» Inauguration of the first copper and cable factory in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq
» Kurdistan Regional Government reveals upcoming tripartite meeting to resume oil exports
» "Al-Eqtisad News" publishes the full decisions of the Cabinet session
» Finance Committee: Discussing 2025 budget schedules to begin next month
» 6,000 job positions to appoint top students and certificate holders.. These are the details
» Iraq.. Manufacturing oil well complexes by local hands
» Iraq is ranked 6th in the Arab world and 37th globally in labor force statistics 2024
» State Administration Coalition confirms unity of Iraqi position
» 6 thousand job positions to appoint top students and certificate holders
» 4 new industrial cities
» Implementation of 6 major projects in the capital
» Maysan trains 920 young people to find job opportunities
» Inventing an advanced device in the field of digital communications
» Planning receives 125,000 tablets for the general population census
» Committee to count the number of private public transport vehicles in the country
» Government moves to build 6 new refineries
» Cabinet approves national initiative to support energy and reduce emissions
» Al-Sudani receives the Spanish Ambassador to Iraq and stresses the need for the European Union to ta
» The Ministry of Oil discusses plans and programs to advance refinery sector projects
» The Council of Ministers decides to increase the capital of the Trade Bank of Iraq by 500 billion di
» The President of the Republic confirms to the National Security Advisor that the stability of Iraq i
» Benefiting from the ISIS experience... Türkiye exploits the tension in the region to expand in Kurdi
» Karbala.. Integrity Commission arrests a broker in the Real Estate Registration Directorate and moni
» Al-Sudani: There is a need for the European Union to take more steps to stop the Zionist aggression
» "Leave the money exchanges behind you".. A specialist proposes a "treatment" for the rise of the dol
» Prices are unstable.. The dollar soars by 20 thousand from the official price