Of the teams off to torrid starts, the Colorado Avalanche are most likely to sustain theirs - TSN.ca

already appears ahead of schedule on the blueline.This isn’t the Sabres of a year ago – a team that rode lofty shooting percentages early in the season, only to watch their huge shot volume disadvantage ultimately win out. Last year’s Sabres team was fatally flawed: they had one ultra-productive line trying to smooth over depth issues in the forward ranks and a ghastly defence that was seemingly incapable of moving the puck.

Buffalo’s blueline overhaul may end up being one of the biggest stories of the 2019-20 season. Adding– two guys with some holes in their off-puck game but incredible puck movers and north-south transitional players – has alleviated a huge defensive burden from their forward class. Jokiharju, in particular, has completely reshaped Buffalo’s ability to take the game to their opponents when their best players are on the ice.

Those aren’t the type of numbers we expect to see from teams that are lottery bound. There is surely some puck luck blessing this team on the defensive side, as the Sabres are stopping more than 95 per cent of shots at 5-on-5 and nearly 93 per cent across all situations. Turn your opponent into a team that can only convert on five to seven per cent of their opportunities and you’ll have a chance to win on most nights.

The Sabres still don’t seem like a great pick to finish inside of the top three in the division, but they can pass the bar of wild-card calibre. That’s quite impressive in a division with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins.

Still, the points are in the bag, and the division doesn’t offer up a tremendous amount of competition. That can’t be understated enough. The Oilers may be a flawed team – more flawed than the standings would suggest – but the hot start has given them an early leg up on the rest of the field, and they might be able to hang around in the playoff race for quite some time as a result.

travisyost Does COL’s PDO not concern you? No doubt they’re good, but this good?

travisyost Not sure how you got Edmonton at 31st on the PK. Apparently your vaunted mathematics skills require retuning.

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