Updated:
The Buffalo Sabres D corps did an exceptional job filling in the gaping crater caused by the recent suspension to their number one defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. It took a questionable three game suspension to keep the skates off Ristolainen's keep. Otherwise, he would have been in the battle, skating his trademark 26:42 average TOI and wreaking havoc on opponents.
"I don't like resting, but obviously I can't say it didn't feel good," Ristolainen said Saturday afternoon after the Sabres practiced on Saturday. "I got some good sleep, a couple days off so I feel really fresh right now."
The Sabres went 2-1 in Ristolainen's absence. hey scored ten goals for. As a compromised unit of six, the Buffalo D allowed only five goals against without Rockin' Risto in the lineup. Three of the five goals against came in the 3-1 loss to Columbus, one of which was an empty netter.
Ristolainen is a worker not a spectator. He said it crushed him to have to sit and watch the three consecutive games that he was suspended for.
"I don't really like watching. You can't do much. You want to be there with the guys," Ristolainen said. "Actually most of the time I was working out during the game but I was watching the power play. It's easier when you watch and actually they played pretty well."
Ah, yes. The power play. Ristolainen is very territorial when it comes to his power play. With Ristolainen in the lineup for 25% success rate on the power play. Ristolainen ranks fourth in the NHL with power play points from defensemen with 1 PPG and 24 PPA.
The prevailing fear was that the Buffalo PP would crash and burn with Ristolainen serving his suspension.
Au contrare.
Dmitry Kulikov jumped off the trainer's table to take Ristolainen's job at the left point on the Buffalo power play. The Buffalo PP was 4 for 8 (50%) when Ristolainen was gone for three games.
Prior to Ristolainen's suspension, Kulikov was out of the lineup for nine games. Kulikov graded out as an A+ when Risto was banned. In the win over Toronto, the Buffalo PP went 2 for 3. Kulikov skated 23:55 TOI had a goal and an assist, both on the PP. Against Florida, Kulikov had a PP assist in 24:28 TOI. The Sabres went 2 for 3 on the PP. In the loss to Columbus, Kulikov skated 25:35 TOI and the Buffalo PP was 0-for-3.
A rested and motivated Ristolainen will return to the lineup Sunday afternoon against the Islanders. He will play his trademark 27-30 minutes TOI and will once again man his PP point.
**
It's beginning to look like no playoffs for the Islanders this season.
#Isles Injury Update: John Tavares is week to week with a lower body injury.
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 1, 2017
Take Tavares' 28 goals and 38 apples out of the lineup and the Islanders are in a world of hurt.
***
Fans expecting to see a John Tabvares-Kyle Okposo-Matt Moulson reunion on Sunday in Buffalo will be sadly disappointed.
Tavares is injured and out for weeks with a lower body injury.
Okposo has been sick all week and hasn't practiced. Dan Bylsma ruled out Okposo to play on Sunday afternoon when the Isles visit the Sabres.
Moulson is the only amigo who will dress for the Sabres-Islanders m
C.J. Smith will make his NHL debut on Sunday. The UMass Lowell scoring star signed with the Sabres on Thursday. He scored 51 points in Lowell this season.
CJ Smith on making @NHL< /a> debut: "I'm ready. I'm excited. It's been in the back of my mind & I've been looking forward to this for a while." pic.twitter.com/6l4Ul7loBU
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 1, 2017
**
As John Tavares goes, so go the NY Islanders.
J.T. is the captain of the ship. He determines the course and steers the ship.
With Tavares in the lineup, the Isles have been a desperate hockey team that has battled admirably the past eight weeks to secure an Eastern wild card berth.
On Friday night, late in the third period of a game against the Devils that they badly needed to win, Tavares left the game with what looked at the time to be a lower body serious injury.
The Islanders put two more points in their playoff bank account, however, their hopes now appear to be dashed now that Tavares is injured.
Tavares collided with Devils defenseman Steve Santini behind the New Jersey cage. Tavares caught his skate blade a divot in Brooklyn's much maligned poor quality ice surface and immediately grabbed his left hamstring. After crumpling to the ice, Tavares needs help from his teammates to get off the ice and to the trainer's room to be examined. The ice making plant at Barclays Center in Brooklyn has been sabotaging the Isles and their opponents for the past two seasons that the team has been playing games there. Isles players have complained openly about the soft, rutty, sub-standard ice quality at Barclays, which was never intended to be a hockey rink. The Isles have been playing hockey in a basketball arena / concert hall for the past two seasons. Their poor ice quality may have just undermined their heroic fight for a wild card berth.
Isles interim bench boss Doug Weight gave no update on his captain after the game other than to say he’s "hopeful". Weight said a center would be called up to play in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a big blow any time you see your best player in distress,… Weight said at his post game presser. “We’re going to need a guy to come up, step in and contribute, and we need the guys who were better tonight to keep pulling the rope.…
The road to the Eastern wild card must roll through Buffalo. The Sabres will host the Isles on Sunday and the Maple Leafs on Monday night. The Sabres will look to pump a fatal slug into the Isles and Maple Leafs and derail their playoff aspirations on successive days.
You better better believe that loyal fans of the Bruins, Lightning, and Hurricanes will be cheering loud and proud for the Sabres in the next 72 hours.
The Isles lost Tavares to injury last night. With him they were in the battle for wild card, without #91 Isles will fall short pic.twitter.com/rFOmC0QUrW
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) April 1, 2017
Saturday's Eastern games with wild card implications:
Boston @ Florida Ottawa @ Winnipeg Toronto @ Detroit Montreal @ Tampa Dallas @ Carolina
***
Jack Eichel remains hotter than a pistol. Since his November 29 return from the high ankle sprain that parked him in the press box for 21 games, Eichel is tied for sixth among all NHL skaters with 55 points (23G, 32A) and leads the NHL with 228 shots on goal.
Eichel has accumulated 40 points (15G, 25A) in his last 35 games, including 12 multi-point outings during that stretch. The Sabres are 14-2-0 this season (and 22-5-1 in his career) when he has at least two points.
Eichel’s .98 points per game ranks him ninth among all players with at least 20 games played this season.
If Eichel finishes the season at a point-per-game pace or better, he will be the eighth player in franchise history to do so in one of his first two full NHL seasons, joining Rick Martin (1971-72), Rene Robert (1972-73), Dave Andreychuk (1983-84), Phil Housley (1983-84), Pierre Turgeon (1988-89), Alexander Mogilny (1990-91) and Thomas Vanek (2006-07).
***
Evander Kane has scored each of his 26 goals this season in his last 53 games.
Kane is tied for 15th in the NHL with 23 even-strength goals despite not scoring his first until December 3.
Since December 1, Kane is tied for sixth among all NHL players in goals (26) and leads the league in even-strength goals (23).