From the moment he tore his Achilles tendon in June, the Buffalo Sabres’ 22-year-old winger tried to be singularly focused on his rehab. But this was his first time rehabbing an injury this significant. So naturally, he wondered how he would feel when he eventually returned to the ice. Would he be able to pick up where he left off at the end of his strong rookie season? How much time would he need to get back up to speed?
Seven games into his return, Quinn has put those concerns to rest. With a goal and an assist in the Sabres’ 6-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Quinn has four goals and 5 points in seven games since returning from injury.
### Goalies
The Sabres sent Eric Comrie to the AHL this week, meaning Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are in line for a bigger share of practice and game reps. Levi’s season has been as inconsistent as you would expect from a 22-year-old rookie. He came back up from the AHL in December and posted four straight games with a save percentage above .900, helping the Sabres to a 3-0-1 record in that stretch. After that, he had four straight games with a save percentage below .900.
But a trip home to Montreal was just what he needed to get back on track. Levi made 15 saves in the first period against the Canadiens, including seven on high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. He finished with 32 saves on 33 shots. This game could have gotten away from the Sabres if Levi didn’t make a few big saves in the opening minutes.
The Sabres need Levi to play this type of game more consistently if they are going to string wins together in the second half of the season. This has been an odd season for Levi’s development. The Sabres handed him the starting job at the beginning of the season, but neither he nor the team handled the pressure well in the early part of the schedule. Some of that pressure is off for Levi given where Buffalo is in the standings, and that could be a benefit to him.
### Sealling Dreams
The Sabres need to start stringing wins together. Through 39 games, they have 36 points and a 16-19-4 record. At the 39-game mark a season ago, the Sabres had 42 points and a 20-17-2 record. And even then those Sabres had to finish 22-16-5 and get 49 points in their final 43 games to get within a point of the postseason. Replicating that would put the Sabres at 85 points and well off a playoff pace. The Sabres would need to get 55 of a possible 86 points just to match their season point total from last season. That would mean playing at a .639 point percentage the rest of the season. Only nine teams in the NHL have done that to this point in the season. The reality is that the Sabres’ slow start may not only cost them a playoff spot but could mean they will have regressed from a season ago if they can’t play like a top-10 NHL team the rest of the way. Seven of their next 10 games are against teams that aren’t in playoff position, so now is the time to make a run if they have one in them.
1 Comment
https://archive.ph/sR51q
### Quinn
From the moment he tore his Achilles tendon in June, the Buffalo Sabres’ 22-year-old winger tried to be singularly focused on his rehab. But this was his first time rehabbing an injury this significant. So naturally, he wondered how he would feel when he eventually returned to the ice. Would he be able to pick up where he left off at the end of his strong rookie season? How much time would he need to get back up to speed?
Seven games into his return, Quinn has put those concerns to rest. With a goal and an assist in the Sabres’ 6-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Quinn has four goals and 5 points in seven games since returning from injury.
### Goalies
The Sabres sent Eric Comrie to the AHL this week, meaning Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are in line for a bigger share of practice and game reps. Levi’s season has been as inconsistent as you would expect from a 22-year-old rookie. He came back up from the AHL in December and posted four straight games with a save percentage above .900, helping the Sabres to a 3-0-1 record in that stretch. After that, he had four straight games with a save percentage below .900.
But a trip home to Montreal was just what he needed to get back on track. Levi made 15 saves in the first period against the Canadiens, including seven on high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. He finished with 32 saves on 33 shots. This game could have gotten away from the Sabres if Levi didn’t make a few big saves in the opening minutes.
The Sabres need Levi to play this type of game more consistently if they are going to string wins together in the second half of the season. This has been an odd season for Levi’s development. The Sabres handed him the starting job at the beginning of the season, but neither he nor the team handled the pressure well in the early part of the schedule. Some of that pressure is off for Levi given where Buffalo is in the standings, and that could be a benefit to him.
### Sealling Dreams
The Sabres need to start stringing wins together. Through 39 games, they have 36 points and a 16-19-4 record. At the 39-game mark a season ago, the Sabres had 42 points and a 20-17-2 record. And even then those Sabres had to finish 22-16-5 and get 49 points in their final 43 games to get within a point of the postseason. Replicating that would put the Sabres at 85 points and well off a playoff pace. The Sabres would need to get 55 of a possible 86 points just to match their season point total from last season. That would mean playing at a .639 point percentage the rest of the season. Only nine teams in the NHL have done that to this point in the season. The reality is that the Sabres’ slow start may not only cost them a playoff spot but could mean they will have regressed from a season ago if they can’t play like a top-10 NHL team the rest of the way. Seven of their next 10 games are against teams that aren’t in playoff position, so now is the time to make a run if they have one in them.