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The Buffalo Sabres are a work in progress. Their head coach Dan Bylsma is a Mr. Tinkertrain.
While his team is 1-3 in it's first four games of the season, Bylsma is never satisfied with his line combinations.
In his brief time behind the Buffalo bench, he has shown a propensity to be unafraid to make changes at a moment's notice.
Bylsma rewards those players who go above and beyond their job description. He doesn't play favorites. He rewards the young and the old. His approached worked with a young team in Pittsburgh that he forged indo a Stanley Cup winner in 2009. He wants a similar result in Buffalo.
Bylsma loves using pairs. He build units of two then finds a complimentary player to round out the trio. Case in point: Eichel-Kane. Five different wingers have skated with 9-15 already this season. That trend will continue.
Ditto O'Reilly-Ennis who have had a few wingers join them this season.
Today, Sam Reinhart was promoted to the number one line largely due to his at times stellar net front presence on the power play.
Why Reinhart?
His head coach is throwing the kid a bone for doing the dirty work. Reinhart has played the wing and center this season. In his past four games, Reinhart has been an effective play maker. He has also been a huge distraction to opposing goalies while playing the net front, low post role on the power play that Thomas Vanek made famous in Buffalo. Bylsma has been deploying Reinhart and Marcus Foligno to take away the eyes of opposing goalies and it has been working. On Thursday night in Sunrise, Roberto Luongo allowed a PPG by Tyler Ennis because he lost track of the puck due to Reinhart being in his grill. Last Saturday versus Tampa, Samson screened Tampa's Ben Bishop in a similar fashion on a Nic Deslauriers goal that found the back of the net. Bylsma likes what he has seen from Reinhart.
“Sam has had an opportunity to be at the net front, he took that in the Columbus game and he was again there last night. Regardless of how hard Tyler Ennis shot the puck or didn’t it wasn’t going in if it wasn’t for Sam being right in front of the goalie and that’s something other times in the game he did real well,… Bylsma said. “He’s going to get it not only on the power play, but he’s going to get some time there on the top line as well.".
In four games played this season, Reinhart is averaging 11:25 TOI. He has only one assist to show for his efforts, however, he is making a difference going to the filthiest of areas on the ice where angels fear to tread.
Reinhart isn't a bull nor a hulking behemoth. He isn't going to scare opponents the way that Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom did back in the day. Bylsma said Friday that Reinhart's size doesn't matter regarding the net front role. Seemingly, it's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog.
Reinhart is making sacrifices for his teammates and Bylsma likes what he sees of the 2014 2nd overall pick in the NHL Draft.
“There’s a willingness to go there and there’s a smarts to going there, and I think both of those guys showed both of those,… Bylsma said.
Reinhart knows that he has to provide value to his team in oreer to maintain his TOI and roster spot. If that means being a role player then so be it. He also knows that in the NHL, that 90% of all goals are scored from the dots down. Reinhart doesn't mind getting roughed up as he fight's opposing D in order to establish his position on top of the enemy's blue ice.
“I love that position,… Reinhart said. “But that being said, I don’t recall a time that I’ve ever played it … I’m comfortable there, the pucks going to go there eventually so I know that if I put myself in the right spots like I did last night, the puck’s going to find me.…
John Vogl of the Buffalo News spoke with Bylsma after today's practice in Tampa where Reinhart skated with ROR and Ennis.
"Sam has had an opportunity to be at the net front," coach Dan Bylsma said in Amalie Arena. "He’s going to get it not only on the power play but he’s going to get some time there on the top line as well."
Bylsma said that last Sunday's games versus Tampa was in his opinion Reinhart's best game as an NHLer
Thanks, Sabres.com
The Reinhart promotion to L1 bumps Zemgus Girgensons down to center on L3.
Vogl reports that Zemgus sought out Bylsma for an on ice chat that lasted approximately 10 minutes at today's skate.
"I think we all can be better, and I think we all need to be better," Bylsma said. "Some of that is more than just effort. I don’t think I’ve ever questioned Zemgus’ effort, but we need to be better in some areas. That’s our conversation."
Bylsma changes wingers more often than 90% of NHL coaches change their socks. It's his job to challenge his men to step up and over deliver. It's also in his nature to reward the successes of his players.
Bylsma no doubt has every player's attention right now.