[Buffalo News] Mattias Samuelsson is back in the lineup. He’s been really good recently. The Sabres have outscored teams 7-1 at 5-on-5 with Samuelsson on the ice since Jan. 4. This season has been challenging at times, though. Samuelsson and Granato explained why:
January 21, 2024
[Buffalo News] Mattias Samuelsson is back in the lineup. He’s been really good recently. The Sabres have outscored teams 7-1 at 5-on-5 with Samuelsson on the ice since Jan. 4. This season has been challenging at times, though. Samuelsson and Granato explained why:
2 comments
he’s been [almost everything you want defensively this season](https://imgur.com/pB5sPLo), however having a top pairing defenseman who is that weak of an offensive puck possession player does hurt as he makes his teammates less effective. Samuelsson doesn’t have to be good offensively, however he can’t be a liability with the puck who causes possessions to break down. all he needs to do is be able to pinch effectively to maintain posession + move with the puck in the offensive zone until he’s able to hand the puck off to Dahlin or a forward.
Because he refuses to go 11-7 on a regular basis? I mean it took him over 100 games to realize Owen Power isn’t effective (at this point in his career) playing over 22 minutes. But hey let’s burden Dahlin with even more minutes at the end of games that are already out of hand.
2 comments
he’s been [almost everything you want defensively this season](https://imgur.com/pB5sPLo), however having a top pairing defenseman who is that weak of an offensive puck possession player does hurt as he makes his teammates less effective. Samuelsson doesn’t have to be good offensively, however he can’t be a liability with the puck who causes possessions to break down. all he needs to do is be able to pinch effectively to maintain posession + move with the puck in the offensive zone until he’s able to hand the puck off to Dahlin or a forward.
Because he refuses to go 11-7 on a regular basis? I mean it took him over 100 games to realize Owen Power isn’t effective (at this point in his career) playing over 22 minutes. But hey let’s burden Dahlin with even more minutes at the end of games that are already out of hand.