Charts
Forwards
Jack Eichel A
Goals – 2 Assists – 0 Points – 2
Breakouts – 3 Breakout Rate – 50%
Entries – 3 Entry Rate – 75%
Eichel’s line had a bit of a tough night in terms of overall play, but the Sabres captain was dominant when it counted, scoring 2 huge goals and extending his point streak to 15 games.
Jimmy Vesey B+
Goals – 1 Assists – 0 Points – 1
Breakouts – 4 Breakout Rate – 80%
Entries – 2 Entry Rate – 28.6%
Vesey has continued a decent stretch of hockey as of late, not only did he score tonight but while he was on the ice at 5v5 the Sabres weren’t trapped in their own end.
Johan Larsson A-
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 5 Breakout Rate – 71.4%
Entries – 3 Entry Rate – 60%
The LOG line did its job (as usual), they ate up time in the offensive zone and didn’t give up any goals against. Larsson has been excellent for a majority of the season and today he was effective at breaking out and entering the zone, on top of doing his usual thing deep in the offensive zone.
Sam Reinhart A
Goals – 0 Assists – 2 Points – 2
Breakouts – 8 Breakout Rate – 88.9%
Entries – 5 Entry Rate – 71.4%
Reinhart was a breakout machine against the Predators, he led the team with 8 controlled breakouts and picked up a couple of assists. The former 2nd overall pick is starting to pick up his play and has been a key contributor on the Sabres’ impressive top line.
Zemgus Girgensons B+
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 2 Breakout Rate – 66.7%
Entries – 2 Entry Rate – 28.6%
Girgensons had a few scoring chances in this game, his numbers aren’t super impressive with minimal controlled entries and breakouts. However he earns a high grade because his line was one of the more dominant lines against Nashville and Zemgus’ work in the o-zone is always impressive.
Evan Rodrigues C+
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 0 Breakout Rate – 0%
Entries – 3 Entry Rate – 75%
Because the Sabres went with 11 forwards Rogdrigues didn’t see a lot of ice in the latter half of the third period, but even when he saw the ice he was an average player. Nothing he did stood out, but he also didn’t do anything to completely harm his team.
Kyle Okposo A+
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 4 Breakout Rate – 100%
Entries – 5 Entry Rate – 100%
While he didn’t score or record any points, I think Okposo was the most impressive forward overall for the Sabres. He had a perfect breakout and entry rate, dominated the boards in the offensive zone and generated some high quality offensive chances. Awesome to see Kyle play this way after coming back from another concussion.
Jeff Skinner B-
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 3 Breakout Rate – 75%
Entries – 3 Entry Rate – 42.9%
An average game from Jeff Skinner, he was decent in transition and had a few scoring chances when he was on the ice. His line was really good, but he didn’t really have any high danger scoring chances or get under Nashville’s skin like he normally would.
Victor Olofsson B
Goals – 1 Assists – 0 Points – 1
Breakouts – 4 Breakout Rate – 100%
Entries – 5 Entry Rate – 50%
GOALofsson has continued his impressive stretch of 5v5 hockey, tonight was no different. Although the top line had a bit of a tough night they generated 3 goals and Victor recorded one of them. He also was effective in transition with the 5 entries and 4 breakouts.
Rasmus Asplund C
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 1 Breakout Rate – 100%
Entries – 1 Entry Rate – 100%
Asplund was the definition of average, for the first time all year I didn’t notice him at 5v5 and then in the third period he didn’t really see the ice. Nothing to be concerned about, when the Sabres are in tight against tough teams Ralph shortens the bench, tonight Asplund was apart of that.
Marcus Johansson B+
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 3 Breakout Rate – 100%
Entries – 4 Entry Rate – 66.7%
Johansson did everything that you want to see from a player with his skillset (aside from get a point). He was great at breaking out of the zone and generated some scoring chances from his controlled entries. Since returning from injury I have been really impressed with him.
Defenceman
Rasmus Dahlin B
Goals – 0 Assists – 1 Points – 1
Breakouts – 3 Breakout Rate – 60%
Entries – 0 Entry Rate – 0%
Entries allowed – 4 Zone Denials – 0
In his first game back from a concussion Dahlin saw limited action but started to look like his old self again. The numbers aren’t eye-popping by any means but he looked confident with the puck on his stick and managed to pick up an assist in his return.
Marco Scandella B-
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 2 Breakout Rate – 100%
Entries – 0 Entry Rate – 0%
Entries Allowed – 1 Zone Denials – 1
Scandella wasn’t noticeable against the Predators, and for a player in his role that’s a good thing.
Henri Jokiharju B+
Goals – 0 Assists – 1 Points – 1
Breakouts – 6 Breakout Rate – 54.5%
Entries – 0 Entry Rate – 0%
Entries Allowed – 4 Zone Denials – 2
Jokiharju picked up an assist on Eichel’s 2nd goal, and led all defenceman in controlled breakouts with 6 throughout the game. He also had the second most zone denials by any Sabres defenceman with 2.
Jake McCabe C
Goals – 0 Assists – 0 Points – 0
Breakouts – 0 Breakout Rate – 0%
Entries – 1 Entry Rate – 100%
Entries Allowed – 2 Zone Denials – 0
McCabe looked better coming off a healthy scratch, but he still didn’t impress. A very pedestrian game with little to no impact in transition or little impact on the score sheet. As a player he has struggled for a majority of the season and this night was no different.
Collin Miller B+
Goals – 0 Assists – 1 Points – 1
Breakouts – 2 Breakout Rate – 50%
Entries – 0 Entry Rate – 0%
Entries Allowed – 5 Zone Denials – 0
Miller had a very good game (in my opinion). His numbers don’t scream that of a very good performance but his assist was a thing of beauty. His ability to stretch the ice with his passing should make him a mainstay in the Sabres defence group.
Rasmus Ristolainen A-
Goals – 0 Assists – 1 Points – 1
Breakouts – 4 Breakout Rate – 66.7%
Entries – 1 Entry Rate – 33.3%
Entries Allowed – 5 Zone Denials – 3
Ristolainen (and Montour for that matter) are a very confusing pair. They shouldn’t work together, and play a high event game that can terrify and excite their teams and fans. But the last few games Ristolainen has become a player that I wouldn’t hate keeping, he picked up an assist while leading the Sabres in zone denials with 3.
Brandon Montour B
Goals – 0 Assists – 1 Points – 1
Breakouts – 3 Breakout Rate – 42.9%
Entries – 0 Entry Rate – 0%
Entries Allowed – 8 Zone Denials – 1
Montour’s transition numbers are not good, but his ability to play high event hockey and to impact the game offensively with aggressiveness earns him a decent grade. He had an excellent assist on the game winner and has arguably been the Sabres best defender over the last stretch of games.
For a full game report be sure to check out our advanced stats page! All stats are live tracked by @austin_broad
