Grading the Buffalo Sabres at the Quarter Mark

With just over a quarter of the season done, let’s look at the Sabres.

With just over a quarter of the NHL season complete, the Buffalo Sabres have seen their fair share of ups and downs, ebbs and flows. We can certainly talk about the team as a whole and judge its performance, but today, I’d like to take a look at each player and grade them on their performance thus far. Taking into consideration a little bit of everything – offensive production, defensive structure, ice time, etc. – this is where I’m at right now.

Here’s the grading scale I’m using:

• A – exceeds expectations
• B – meets expectations
• C – partially meets expectations
• D – does not meet expectations
• F – definitely fails expectations

Note: only players who have skated in at least half of the team’s games so far are included here. It’s simply very challenging to judge players who haven’t really played much – so guys like Tyson Jost and Mattias Samuelsson, along with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, aren’t listed.

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A – Exceeds Expectations

• Craig Anderson (G) – 9 games played, 8 games started, 4-4, .917 sv%, 2.76 GAA
• Tage Thompson (F) – 21 games played, 26 points (13-13)
• Rasmus Dahin (D) – 20 games played, 23 points (8-15)

B – Meets Expectations

• Alex Tuch (F) – 21 games played, 21 points (10-11)
• Jeff Skinner (F) – 21 games played, 21 points (9-12)
• Dylan Cozens (F) – 21 games played, 15 points (5-10)
• JJ Peterka (F) – 21 games played, 10 points (4-6)
• Jack Quinn (F) – 16 games played, 9 points (3-6)
• Owen Power (D) – 21 games played, 9 points (0-9)

C – Partially Meets Expectations (But I’d Like to See More From Them)

• Eric Comrie (G) – 11 games played, 11 games started, 4-7, .887 sv%, 3.62 GAA
• Victor Olofsson (F) – 21 games played, 13 points (11-2)
• Casey Mittelstadt (F) – 21 games played, 13 points (5-8)
• Kyle Okposo (F) – 15 games played, 9 points (1-8)
• Vinnie Hinostroza (F) – 14 games played, 8 points (0-8)
• Rasmus Asplund (F) – 17 games played, 6 points (2-4)
• Lawrence Pilut (D) – 11 games played, 1 point (0-1)

D – Does Not Meet Expectations

• Jacob Bryson (D) – 20 games played, 6 points (1-5)
• Zemgus Girgensons (F) – 20 games played, 5 points (3-2)
• Peyton Krebs (F) – 17 games played, 3 points (0-3)
• Ilya Lyubushkin (D) – 16 games played, 0 points (0-1)

F – Definitely Fails Expectations

• Casey Fitzgerald (D) – 13 games played, 1 point (0-1)