Buffalo has a similar record to Calgary, but they've gotten there by the opposite path: whereas the Flames rode a high shooting percentage through the first month or so, the Sabres have Ryan Miller stopping everything he sees. Only 5 of their skaters have a on-ice SV% below .920 right now (at ES), while a majority of the club sits were all above .940. That's crazy good. On the other end of the spectrum, only two Sabres skaters have an on-ice SH% above 10 - and they're both defensemen. So guys like Roy and Vanek are technically struggling to score right now, but I doubt that'll last forever.
Stuff to look for tonight:
- Patrik Kelata is the leagues best pest. Expect to hate him by the end of the night.
- Monstrous Calgarian Tyler Myers is turning heads in Buffalo. He was Keith Aulie's defense partner last year during the WJC.
- Steve Montador is fitting in well in Buffalo by all accounts. I'll never, ever forget his efforts in the 2003-2004 run - especially the OT goal versus San Jose.
- If you missed it, check out my Q&A with Die By the Blade here. I've been watching a lot of Zero Punctuation lately, so I was feeling a little saucy when I responded to David's questions.
- Jarome Iginla has continued to look more like himself recently. Does he take another step tonight?
- I noted below that Sarich has struggled a bit next to Jay Bouwmeester. If that continues, he's even more likely to become trade bait in the near future.
Let's go for five in a row.