[Lysowski] – Henri Jokiharju montre qu’il « appartient » à la meilleure paire des Sabres après des égratignures en bonne santé
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Spiritual_Bourbon
@Sabres de Buffalo
[Lysowski] – Henri Jokiharju montre qu’il « appartient » à la meilleure paire des Sabres après des égratignures en bonne santé
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Spiritual_Bourbon
2 Comments
https://archive.ph/gniL4
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> Jokiharju’s skill won’t tantalize. At 6-foot, 200 pounds, he’s not physically imposing. And, not long ago, he was forced to watch the Sabres from the press box as a healthy scratch. Head coach Don Granato chose to exclude Jokiharju from the lineup in eight of Buffalo’s 55 games this season. Jokiharju wasn’t playing poorly, Granato explained, but the team needed more from the right-shot defenseman.
> One month removed from his last scratch, Jokiharju is skating on the top defense pair next to Rasmus Dahlin and shouldering the heaviest workload of his NHL career while the Sabres wait for Power to return from injury. In four games without Power, the Sabres have received one point and three assists with a plus-6 rating from Jokiharju. He’s averaging 24:29 of ice time during that span, including a career-high 27:29 Monday in a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, and he will remain in a prominent role when they face the Canadiens in Montreal on Wednesday night.
> The marked improvement in Jokiharju’s game didn’t occur overnight. He’s been toiling away in Buffalo for almost five years with the goal of becoming a well-rounded, two-way defenseman who can shut down an opponent’s top line and energize his team’s 5-on-5 offense.
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> Jokiharju’s season stat line won’t wow. He has three goals with 12 points in 47 games. His 18:09 average ice time is almost three fewer minutes than last season. The reality is that he’s been one of their best on the blue line, though. He ranks third among Buffalo defensemen in on-ice expected goal share and shot quality allowed at 5-on-5, according to Evolving-Hockey.
> Recently, Jokiharju has provided Dahlin with a stable, effective defense partner while Power and Samuelsson are out. With Jokiharju and Dahlin on the ice at 5-on-5, the Sabres have controlled 57.14% of the shot attempts and 61.2% of the shot-quality share. The Sabres have outscored opponents 5-0 with Jokiharju on the ice at 5-on-5 since Power has been out.
> “He doesn’t really miss a shift,” Clifton added on Jokiharju. “He’s obviously up with ‘Dahls’. I don’t know how much they’ve played together in the past … but playing with ‘Dahls’, he belongs right up there. It’s good to see. You make that jump, injuries happen, and guys step up. He’s certainly done that the past couple of games.”
> It was important for the Sabres to learn this season if Jokiharju should be part of their future. He’s a restricted free agent this summer and, according to AFP Analytics, he’s projected to receive a three-year bridge contract with an annual cap hit of $4.302 million. He doesn’t produce points, and the Sabres will need more from him on the penalty kill, especially if Erik Johnson is traded before the April 8 deadline, but there’s value in having multiple defensemen who can skate next to Dahlin on the top pair.
It’s honestly a joke he was scratched at all this season