Sabres Notes: Sam Carrick, Stanley-Schenn pair, and more
Welcome to this week’s edition of Sabres Notes where I will be running through some of my latest thoughts on the Buffalo Sabres. Let’s not waste anymore time and get right into it:
Sam Carrick: Ready for Buffalo knighthood
It has been a very long time there has been a Sabres player that has become a fan favorite as quickly as Sam Carrick. I mean the Sabres have not exactly had a rich history of trade deadline acquisitions and it has been a while since they’ve been buyers at the deadline (especially if you forget the 2019/20 season exists).
He’s kind of like an older, lite version of what Raffi Torres was supposed to be for the Sabres in 2009/10. Except instead of coming in as a 19-goal guy who would go on to score 0 goals in a Sabres uniform he came in as a 4-goal guy who somehow already has 2 goals in a Sabres uniform.
Sure he’s not going to be shooting 28% over the next month or so, but he brings veteran experience into a young locker room and is genuinely happy to be a Buffalo Sabre.
The underlying play in his game has been good too. Sabres have outshot their opponents 23 to 7 with Carrick on the ice at 5v5 their last three games. For those who enjoy winning face-offs, he won 7 of 9 in the 8-7 win over Tampa.
Buffalo loves their “lunch pail” players and that’s exactly what Sam Carrick can be. The type of guy you’d wait in line to buy a medallion of at Wilson Farms.
Stanley-Schenn pairing: Maybe one, but not both
The Stanley-Schenn is the Sabres’ newest defense pairing after acquiring both players from the Winnipeg Jets. Given their mobility issues and lack of true puck-moving ability, it was always concerning imagining these two getting paired together.
We got our first look at this pair on Thursday when a D-to-D pass ended up in the back of the Sabres’ net:
And then on Saturday when a failed clear by Schenn lead to an easy goal for the Leafs:
And there were a few other lowlights with Luke Schenn losing his footing and Logan Stanley getting beat by not-so-great NHL forwards. Surprisingly they have not been outshot or outchanced at a crazy rate (44.0 xGF% w/ Luke Schenn at 5v5), but there were a few moments where a puck bounce saved them from further disaster.
It hasn’t all been bad, there have been a few decent plays made by these two. But it absolutely seems like their mistakes are compounded when the two are paired together.
With Zach Metsa playing at a respectable level, Michael Kesselring showing flashes, and Conor Timmins returning to full health, the Sabres are now in a situation where we hopefully will not have to see these two paired together again.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the physicality of Stanley in a chippy game in the playoffs. Maybe pair him with Kesselring or Timmins. But if a Stanley-Schenn pair gave up one of the two above goals in a playoff game, well that would just not be ideal.
Benson back on the top line
Since Zach Benson has returned from injury, Lindy Ruff has experimented with placing him on the 4th line while Peyton Krebs remained on Tage Thompson’s wing on the top line.
I think that was a decent idea. Benson helped the 4th line with some of their puck management issues. In his 61 minutes of ice time with Beck Malenstyn, they have posted a 61.4 xGF% together. That’s a drastic change from what that line was doing before his arrival.
I think the real downside with having Benson on the 4th line vs. the 1st line is the lack of finishing ability on that bottom line. I know that sounds crazy after we’ve seen Malenstyn and Carrick score some absolutely insane goals, but their baseline shooting percentage is still very low.
I think Benson is best served in a role where he can be the guy winning pucks and distributing to finishers. I also think he is someone who needs more ice time with how good he has been at driving a positive chance differential this season. So I think his move back to the top line should be a fruitful one for the Sabres.
Their current forward lines are close to perfection with their available players:
Metsa masterclass
I can write an entire article about just how improbable Zach Metsa’s on-ice luck has been this season (Sabres goalies have stopped 157 of 159 shots with Metsa on the ice at 5v5). But we will save that for another time because Metsa had the game of his NHL career on Saturday night against Toronto.
He saw a career high 15:32 TOI, saw some ice time with Rasmus Dahlin, and unblocked shot attempts were 19 to 4 in his favor at 5v5. He had close to a flawless game and even earned some well-deserved praise from his coach:
Many assumed Metsa would be the odd man out after the additions of Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. Now? I guess we’ll have to wait and see how Lindy deploys his defensemen over this final stretch.