Sabres Look to Ground the Airplanes!
Winnipeg Jets (13-11-0) vs Buffalo Sabres (10-11-4)
Puck Drop: 7:30 pm Eastern | Keybank Center | Buffalo, New York
TV: MSG, Amazon Prime
Know Your Opponent
Winnipeg Jets
Record: 13-11-0 | 26 PTS
Division Ranking: 5th in the Central
Last Game: 5-2 win over Nashville
PP: 10th, 22.7% (17/75) [Sabres: 21st, 16.7% (12/72)]
PK: 6th, 84.5% (71/84) [Sabres: 2nd, 88.6% (62/70)]
1) No Laughing Matter
The Sabres need more victories right now and that is the bottom line. They pulled one out in Minnesota with two unconventional goals in regulation and a nearly everybody scores shootout. Buffalo outworked the Wild for the majority of that game and deserved that win. Even through their recent 2 game skid, the Sabres have been putting in the effort, with little results unfortunately. That has been particularly discouraging for the players and the fans. The last home game against the Devils left the crowd restless and frustrated and lashing out at management. A goalie on his game and breakdowns from Buffalo’s D (that led to a goal every time) resulted in a 5-0 loss. It’s enough to drive the fans to drink as the Airplanes! come to town.
Winnipeg is missing a big part of the team right now with Connor Hellebuyck out of the lineup for several more weeks. Old friend Eric Comrie has stepped in with mixed results. The Jets are just two games over the .500 mark. Another high effort performance from the Sabres should give a better result than that Jersey game. Keybank Center fans are owed a better finish this time, surely. And yes, I am serious…
2) The 4th line, Quinn, McLeod and Zucker
These are the players having the most impact right now, driving the team forward. Everybody else is a mixed bag, especially Tuch and Tage. They still lead the Sabres in overall points in first and second place respectively, but each of them goes through cold spells or invisibility shifts far too often. Moreso then the top players on other teams. The effort overall has been great, but you have to produce in the NHL if you want to win more than you lose. One thing that could help Buffalo right now would be some extra fire power. May we finally see some long, lost reinforcement in the lineup?
Out since game 1, Josh Norris will finally get back into action tonight. His presence would provide additional scoring power and more jam on the face offs. Fans would love to see him return to the lineup and make an impact, while staying HEALTHY. He is a player who could make a legit difference to the team, which could lead to more winning as well. Now that I built up the player and his possible return for tonight, the over/under on Josh is 3 games. I took the over as I think he can last 5 without going down again.
3) Goodbye and Thank You to One of Our Own
I thought Kerra would make mention of it in her recap on Saturday, but she kept it humble. Unfortunately for all of us, she will be moving on from DBTB. The win over Minnesota was her last article, I regrettably must report. She was originally hired by Chad seven years ago and has been doing coverage of the Sabres for this site ever since. We thank her for her informative writing over the years and overall contributions to DBTB. We will miss her constant presence, creative style and the female perspective she offered on this infuriating team we all cheer for. Between Melissa leaving and now Kerra, that is a big double loss for all of us. Two hard working ladies that really cared and made this site a better place to visit (and helping to balance out this sausage party of hockey hell).
Godspeed and best wishes to you, Kerra. May you find all the success and happiness in the world. I hope you remain a reader and maybe we can watch this team of ours hoist a Cup someday! Stop in and say hello anytime. All our best to you, good luck Kerra!
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Zach Benson – Josh Norris – Tage Thompson
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Josh Doan – Noah Ostlund – Alex Tuch
Jordan Greenway – Peyton Krebs – Beck Malenstyn
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson
Bowen Byram – Conor Timmins
Jacob Bryson – Owen Power
Goalies: Alex Lyon, Ukko Pekka Luukkonen (projected starter), Colten Ellis
Winnipeg Jets
Forwards
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabriel Vilardi
Vladislav Namestnikov – Jonathan Toews – Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter – Adam Lowry – Alex Iafallo
Tanner Pearson – Morgan Barron – Gustav Nyquist
Defense
Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg – Luke Schenn
Logan Stanley – Colin Miller
Goalies: Eric Comrie (projected starter), Thomas Milic
