The Buffalo Sabres have finally got their offense untracked, generating 14 goals in their past three games. It’s not a coincidence they’ve won two of those three contests to improve their record to 4-3-1.
But there’s still another issue the Sabres need to address – and that’s their play in their own zone. Because in those past three games, Buffalo has given up a combined 11 goals. And when you look at where the Sabres’ defense is at the moment, you can see why Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff needs to focus on improving his team’s play on ‘D’.
Indeed, right now, the Sabres have the NHL’s seventh-worst goals-against average – 3.63 goals-against per-game. And most of the teams that are as bad or worse in that department are notoriously sub-par teams, including the woeful Calgary Flames (5.00 goals-against), Vancouver Canucks (4.56), Columbus Blue Jackets (4.20), Los Angeles Kings (4.20) and Chicago Blackhawks (4.00). If you aren’t taking care of business defensively, it doesn’t much matter how potent your offense is.
How do the Sabres clamp down in their own end? Well, having captain Rasmus Dahlin back in the lineup will help in that regard – and it’s also not a coincidence Buffalo’s goals-against average spiked now that Dahlin has missed the past two games, as well as Saturday’s tilt against the Montreal Canadiens. Dahlin’s sky-high panic threshold sets a defensive tone for his teammates, and he’s Buffalo’s least-replaceable player.
That said, there’s still good reason to believe the Sabres have to do more to be more responsible on defense. And some of that falls squarely into the lap of Buffalo goalies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis. With veteran netminder Alex Lyon sidelined with an injury of his own, Buffalo has had no choice but to ride Luukkonen and Ellis. And to say the results were mixed would be extremely charitable.
Indeed, although Luukkonen has been better of late – posting a save percentage of .921 or higher in two of his past three appearances – the reality is that, in six appearances this season, Luukkonen has a significantly-disappointing SP of .854 and a GAA of 3.52. You can say he hasn’t got a lot of support from his Sabres teammates, but Luukkonen has to own his own role in his bloated stats.
Meanwhile, in just three appearances this season, Ellis has been just as disappointing as Luukkonen, if not more so. He had a decent start to the season, putting up a .900 SP in an overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. But Ellis got worse in each of his next two games, posting an .867 SP in a 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth, then getting yanked after surrendering two goals on nine shots in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers.
If Luukkonen can’t provide at least average individual numbers, and if Ellis isn’t a legitimate option to turn to when Luukkonen isn’t at his best…well, you can see why that’s going to be an ongoing problem. Now, if Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen can pull off a blockbuster trade for suspended Winnipeg Jets superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck, everything changes for Buffalo. But otherwise, there aren’t many great netminding options for the Sabres to acquire.
In any case, Buffalo’s challenge is clear: get better on ‘D’, and get better right away. Last season, the Sabres had the league’s 10th-best goals-against average at 2.93 goals-against. And it’s not as if there have been a slew of changes to Buffalo’s roster. It’s mostly the same group, so there should be no excuses as to figuring out how to defend better.
If your defense is porous, it matters not how great your offense is. Ruff knows this, so it’ll be intriguing to see how he pushes his players to be better defensively. And the sooner that happens, the more likely it is the Sabres get back to the top of the Atlantic Division.
