(WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres are going to finally call up a defenseman from the Rochester Americans, as someone finally made a decision.
Zach Metsa has been summoned to join the trip for the final four games, while forward Noah Ostlund is going back down to the Amerks.
Ostlund has played 20 games with the Sabres and has three goals and three assists. I wouldn’t think this is the last we’ve seen of him in Buffalo.
After practice on Sunday in Calgary, head coach Lindy Ruff spoke to reporters about switching up the lines. He talked about having a heavy line like Tage Thompson centering Jordan Greenway and Alex Tuch.
Thompson has told me more than once he likes playing with Greenway, because he fits his style. With Thompson going back to center, there really wasn’t room for Ostlund anymore.
Ruff also talked about Josh Norris not having found his game yet, and he’s hoping putting him with Zach Benson and Josh Doan will help.
The Sabres still haven’t won three games in-a-row, and that’s a big reason why they’re still the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Another reason is the Sabres only have seven wins in their last 20 games. That’s 24% of their season.
Buffalo has played .464 hockey overall this season, and has regressed in some areas in Ruff’s second year.
Why are things so bad again?
It’s simple: There are too many games where the Sabres' best players aren’t even close to making a difference.
After scoring a goal in six-consecutive games, Thompson has no goals and one assists in his last six. Thompson should be a 45-to-50-goal scorer each and every season, but there have been too many games this season where you wouldn’t have even known he was on the ice.
Even before his hot streak, he had just two points in five games.
The playoffs are still a pipe dream, as the Sabres are seven points behind the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division, and eight points out of the two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots held by the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers.
In his last seven appearances in net, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a record of 3-4-0 with a 2.34 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. Overall this season, he’s 4-4-1 with a 2.57 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage.
We’ll be witnessing two of the worst clubs in the NHL go head-to-head on Monday. Buffalo is 29th in the league with a .464 points percentage, while Calgary is 30th at .433.
The only two teams that are worse are the Vancouver Canucks (.431) and Nashville Predators (.429).
For the Flames, Dustin Wolf has played five of the last seven in net. He’s 8-12-2 overall this season with a 2.90 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
Nazem Kadri is Calgary's leading scorer, but he only has 23 points in 30 games.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 8 p.m.
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