Offensive Corps:
A team notorious for underperforming, the Buffalo Sabres again underperformed on the offensive front as Thomas Vanek regressed even further from his 84-point season 3 years ago and no player cracked the 70-point mark. Derek Roy, a lone (relative) bright spot, churned out his third straight year over 25 goals as he led the Sabres with 69 points and Tim Connolly delivered his healthiest season since 2002-03 and a career-high in points with 65.
Defensive Corps:
It’s the Tyler Myers show when it comes to the defense. The rookie more-than-doubled the points of next-in-line Steve Montador with 48 points and it should only get higher. The future also bodes well for Chris Butler, who put up 21 points in 59 games of his sophomore year, while 12 of those 21 points were on the powerplay.
Goaltending Situation:
Ryan Miller proved to be the only must-have Sabre again this season with a Vezina-winning 48-18-8 record with a 2.22 GAA, .929 SV% and 5 SOs.
On the Bench:
Lindy Ruff coached the Sabres to their second Northeast division title in his 12th year coaching the team but Ruff’s defensive style leaves many of the Sabres forwards fantasy deadweight.
The Bottom Line:
Another underachieving year for Sabres forwards didn’t completely go to waste as we saw a future fantasy stalwart in Tyler Myers and more reassurance of Ryan Miller’s excellence. However, without a higher-profile top-6 forward to help out the 1-2 tandem of Roy and Connolly, the Sabres scoring struggles will certainly continue.
