You Don't Know Jack (sabres)

Buffalo's current record in the NHL standings notwithstanding, youth is being served in a big way right now for the Sabres.

The future is so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Did you know......

* Jack Eichel is the first Buffalo Sabres rookie to create 13 points (4G, 9A) in a 10-game segment since Donald Audette (8G, 4A) accomplished the feat from November 12-December 4, 1991?

* If Eichel is able to maintain his current pace, he will become the ninth Sabres rookie to achieve a 50+ point and first since Derek Plante accomplished teh feat in 1993-94.

* Eichel is in the top 5 among NHL rookies in the following categories:

Goals: (3rd, 13) Assists (4th, 14) Points (4th, 27) Shots On Goal (1st, 134) TOI/GP (5th, 18:56)

**

With Samson Reinhart's hat trick in Sunday's 4-2 win in The Peg, the Sabres are back on pace to have two 20-goal rookies for the first time since 1974-75 when Danny Gare and Peter McNab accomplished the feat.

Samson Reinhart became the first Sabres rookie to record a hat trick since Jason Pominville on January 14, 2016.

Reinhart is 5th-youngest player in Buffalo Sabres team history to record a hat trick, according to Elias Sports Service:

Youngest Players To Rercord A Hat Trick in Buffalo Sabres History:

* Phil Housley: 18 years, 320 days * Paul Cyr: 19 years, 123 days * John Tucker: 19 years, 185 days * Hannu Virta: 19 years, 362 days * Samson Reinhart: 20 years, 65 days

***

Rasmus Ristolainen ranked in the top 15 among NHL defensemen in the following statistical categories:

Goals (T-11th, 7) Assists (T-10th, 20) Points (T-11th, 27) Shots (9th, 106) TOI per game (13th, 24:45) Multi-point games (T-8th, 6).

â—¾Ristolainen is the first Sabres defenseman to record five or more multi-point games in a season since Christian Ehrhoff had six in 2011-12. Jordan Leopold (2010-11) was the last Sabres defenseman to record seven multi-point games.

â—¾His four PPGs are the most by a Sabres defenseman since 2010-11 (Jordan Leopold, 5).

â—¾With 27 points (7G, 20A) in 42 games, Ristolainen is on pace for 53 points this season.

If/when he reaches the 50-point plateau, Ristolainen would be the first Sabres defenseman to achieve 50 points in a single season since Garry Galley in 1995-96 and the youngest to reach that mark since Phil Housley.

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Ryan O’Reilly has 19 points (10G, 9A) in his last 19 games, a stretch that included an eight-game point streak from November 28 to December 14. The point streak tied the longest streak of O’Reilly’s

â—¾O’Reilly (58.4%) ranked third in the league in faceoff percentage. ROR also led the NHL with 1,058 faceoffs taken, accounting for 41.9% of Buffalo’s total faceoffs.

â—¾O’Reilly will become the 31st player in Sabres history to appear in the NHL All-Star Game when he plays in this year’s installment on Jan. 31 in Nashville.

**

The Lake effect gales aren't the only winds blowing through Buffalo today.

Trade winds are blowing at a high velocity as well.

For the first time since training camp, Dan Bylsma has the luxury (knock on wood) of having eight healthy defensemen ready, willing and able to suit up for battle.

Mark Pysyk joined the Sabres in Minneapolis on Monday after jake McCabe was dinged in the third period in winnipeg on Sunday. McCabe made an immediate recovery from hi sailment and practices full go on Monday. Pysyk was green lighted for a return to the Buffalo lineup after he was given passing grades from his three games in three days conditioning stint in AHL Rochester last weekend. Pysyk missed 22 games with a broken bone in his foot that was first diagnosed as a bone bruise.

After the Tuesday morning skate, Bylsma threw a monkey wrench into the plans for Pysyk's return when he announced that McCabe and not Pysyk will Minnesota Wild tonight. Pysyk, the Edmonton Oil Kings alum will make his return to the lineup on Friday night when the Boston Bruins skate into balmy Buffalo.

Bylsma is an ardent believer in keeping only seven defenseman in teh NHL at any given time. He wants a six man D corps with a standby who can be activated in the event of injury or illness.

So, what then will Bylsma be doing to solve his "problem" of having eight healthy D in Buffalo?

I smell a trade simmering.

I've been telling you for months that Tim Murray has been patiently searching for a lefthanded, top four D who can play in all situations. Murray's still hasn't found what he's looking for. He will continue to search though and when teh right player with teh right skill set and the right contract terms present themselves, Murray will pull the trigger.

In the meantime, Bylsma has to find TOI for eight D including:

Rasmus Ristolainen, Josh Gorges, Jake McCabe, Josh Gorges, Zach Bogosian, Mark Pysyk, Mike Weber and Carlo Colaiocovo.

It appears to my eyes that Weber may be the odd D-man out at this juncture.

Weber is a veteran left shot D who can play the heavy game. He can be a nightmare to play against in his end of the rink.

Sabres D coach Terry Murray has done an exceptional job of accentuating the positives and eliminating some of the negatives of all of his D-men. Weber is one of his prized pupils.

Gone are the Ted Nolan tanking days of last season when Weber would skate 21-25 minutes per game. The objective was to lose games last season thus Weber was on the ice an inordinate amount of TOI per game. Thi sseason, Terry Murray and Bylsma have reduced Weber's minutes to between 10 and 14 minutes TOI per game and the results have been noteworthy.

On many nights last season, Weber was playing against the other team's top lines. Hi sice time shot through the roof after February 2015's trade of Tyler Myers and the season ending surgery to Josh Gorges. Weber finished last season with a -22 rating. This season Weber is a respectable -2 and is playing a simplified game against the enemy's third and fourth lines with reduced ice time to augment his talents rather than exposing his weaknesses, like foot speed.

Despite what Sabres fans think, Weber, 28, does indeed have trade value. He will become UFA on July 1.

Murray may want to package Weber with a top six in order to land the lefthanded top four that he has been patiently waiting for to become available via trade. Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Jared Cowen come immediately to the top of my mind.

Murray may always want to pursue trading Cody Franson whose name pops up in conversations that I have and have had with personnel people in the league.

Terry Murray should be commended for simplifying Franson's game too.

The big righty has massive trade appeal. He is no wplaying an appropriate 15-19 minutes per game. He has 3 goals and 10 assists in 42 games played. On the PP, Franson can walk the line and gets his booming, low point shot on the goalie.

Franson is earning $3,325,000 this and next season.

**

Linus Ullmark is looking California, but feeling Minnesota.

Dan Bylsma will ice the same lineup in Minny that beat the Jets in The Peg on Sunday.

Ullmark get the net for his second straight game, breaking Bylsma's nine game goalie rotation.

***

I'm psyched that the Sabres have asked for and have been granted permission to rock their sexy white sweaters on home ice for five home dates in the near future.

You Millenials and Gen X'ers don't remeber the 1970s and 1980s like I do. Those were the days when the home team would rock it's sexy whities.

I'd love to see it become a league wide rule to go back to the future. Until then I'll enjoy what I can get for now. Baby steps.

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