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Hutt, Hutt, Eich!

October 8, 2018, 8:27 PM ET [9 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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SABRES WIN.

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The Buffalo Sabres finished dead last in the NHL standings last season. Nothing went right for the 2017-18 Sabres. They couldn’t score. They couldn’t defend. Their special teams were terrible. They couldn’t keep pucks out of their own net.

During the summer, Sabres GM Jason Botterill blew up his roster. He said goodbye to veterans Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Nolan, Benny Pouliot, Victor Antipin and Jacob Josefson among others.
Seven new players made their Sabres regular-season debuts on Thursday vs. Boston: Patrik Berglund, Rasmus Dahlin, Carter Hutton, Conor Sheary, Jeff Skinner, Vladimir Sobotka and Tage Thompson. On the eve of the season opener, Botterill claimed power winger Remi Elie off waivers from the Dallas Stars.

What would become of the goaltending situation? Phil Housley needed to see a change in that department.

Robin Lehner wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer. Chad Johnson left town as an unrestricted free agent. Lehner posted a .908 save percentage, 3.01 GAA last season while Johnson went .891 with a 3.55 GAA.

When Botterill signed unrestricted free agent Carter Hutton on July 1, the Buffalo GM did so with the intentions of having the 28-year old veteran split the net with prospect Linus Ullmark.
Hutton won the starting goaltending job. Ullmark was good. Hutton was better.

After performing well during his starts in exhibition play, Hutton won the starting goaltending job. Hutton has quickly become a respected voice in the Buffalo room among veterans and young pros. Hutton is a soft spoken, thoughtful man who doesn't get easily rattled. Hutton is others-focused and is a team-first guy. Hutton knows his role. served as the back up tender to Pekka Rinne in Nashville and Jake Allen in St. Louis. He always wears a smile on his face and is a positive, calming influence at all times. Talk about a perfect role model for a Sabres roster that badly needed one.

Toss out the 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on opening night and its easy to see how and why.
On Saturday night, Hutton led the way for the Sabres in the first win of their new season with 43 saves, marking the second most saves of his NHL career, trailing only his 48-save shutout on December 16, 2017 against the Winnipeg Jets.

On Monday, with the Vegas Golden Knights in town for a Canadian Thanksgiving/Columbus Day matinee, Hutton stopped 35 of 37 shots to improve to 2-1 on the season.


The Sabres went 2,081 days without having a winning record dating back to January 24, 2013. That’s an eternity.


In 174:46 TOI, Hutton has faced 106 total shots on goals and has turned aside 100 SOG.
On Monday, despite the Sabres being badly outshot, 37-17, Hutton stymied the 2018 Western Conference champions.

Hutton was brilliant.

Jack Eichel seemingly told Hutton: “You keep the puck out of our net and I’ll fill their net”.

Eichel took matters into his own hands and scored two goals, one at even strength and one on the power-play. Eichel now has three goals and an assist in his first three games of the season.

Moments after Eichel gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead, Erik Haula got the Knights to within 2-1.

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The captain can dangle.

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Then, just 27 seconds after the Haula goal, defenseman Marco Scandella beat Marc-Andre Fleury to restore the two-goal lead for the Sabres. Jason Pominville scored to make it 4-1 Sabres. Jonathon Marchessault’s goal made it 4-2.

Dating back to last season, Eichel now has 14 points (6 goals and 8 assists) in his last 10 games.

The Vegas victory was Eichel’s 16th career multi-goal game. The Sabres own a 12-3-1 record in those games.


Thanks, Sabres TV



Samson Reinhart and Conor Sheary recorded the assists on Eichel’s second goal. Reinhart now has an assist in consecutive games and Sheary has three points (2G,1A) in his last two games.

Kyle Okposo had two assists versus Vegas.

There is a formula for success that has allowed the Sabres to win their last two games:

*Hutton has made 78 saves on the 81 shots on goal he has faced against NYR and Vegas.
* Hutton has a sterling .962 SV% in his past two starts against the Rangers and Knights.
* Hutton’s three game totals: .942 SV% and 2.09 GAA.
* Eichel has scored 3 goals and an assist vs. NYR and Vegas.
* The Buffalo PP is 3 for 6 (50%) in their past two games.
* The Buffalo PK is 5 for 5 the past two games


***

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A lot more than just a win on the scoreboard.

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I'm a sucker for a feel-good story.


I'm so happy for former Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who made headlines recently for his serious struggles with alcohol addiction and behavioral health. Lehner was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and vowed to come out of his personal darkenss as a changed man. I covered Lehner for three seasons in Buffalo and I applaud him for his transparency. Lehner is a good goalie. He is a better man.

Were it not for Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello taking a rooting interest in Lehner, the sizable Swede might likely be out of the NHL right now. Lamoriello took a risk in signing Lehner.

Lehner started his first game for NY Islanders against the swashbuckling San Jose Sharks on Monday afternoon.

Lehner's s performance earned the tower of power a page in the New York Islanders history books.


Lehner became the first Islanders goalie to earn a shutout in his debut. Lehner made 35 saves on 35 shots faced by the star-studded roster of the Stanley Cup favorite San Jose Sharks.


"Robin was really solid," Head Coach Barry Trotz said after the 4-0 win.

"I was really happy for him, he's made such a big commitment in so many areas of his life and he's changing his game with [Goalie Coach] Piero [Greco] and I was happy for him and I think guys were too."



Lehner stopped 16 shots in the third period to preserve the Isles lead and put the finishing touches on the shutout, the first for the Islanders against the Sharks in fifteen years.

After the game, the admittedly nervous 27 year old veteran said he felt good in the days leading up to his first start for his new team.

"Today he stood tall when he needed to. He was calm, tight and he was moving. He wasn't reaching for stuff. He looked big," Trotz said. "I know their shooters were seeing a wall."


"I try to just move forward here, but it's obviously a little bit special," Lehner said after his shutout win. "I felt real good to be back in the game again doing what I love, perfectly healthy, feeling better than I ever did. It's the start of a new chapter with a new team and a new city and I'm, looking forward to it."



Thanks, Islanders TV
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