Buffalo: 8-10-2 (18 points)
Much to the delight of Bob and Amy (the entire Buffalo Sabres fan base) the team had a strong start to the season (6-2-1) that featured a 5-1 drubbing of the Lightning despite having a team nearly devoid of any household name. But now the real Sabres have shown up (Remember, Eichel-d it!). The PP (9th overall) has been good, as have Tage Thompson (10G) and Victor Olofsson (13P in 12 games), but that’s about it. Sabre that first month, Bob and Amy.
Random Observation: On pace for 20 goals and 48 points in 80 games, 29-year-old Jeff Skinner is having, by far, his best season since singing his contract extension in Buffalo. The downside: He makes $9M per year and has an additional 5 years left, all with a NMC; a lot of cake for numbers that have almost been equaled by Michael Bunting and his sub-$1M contract
Boston: 10-7 (20 points)
The record is pretty good and the team ranks 4th in GA but the offence really lacks depth and I’m not exactly swayed that the Swayman-Ullmark combo in net is good enough. Moreover, other than a SO win against Florida, Boston has only secured victories over inferior or average opponents. Their other 9 wins, are, as follows: DAL, SJ, MON, OTT, PHI, BUF(X2), DET, NJ (Phi and Fla also spanked them in their other meetings).
I predict that soon, the Bruins (no longer shoo-ins) will come to ruins.
Random Observation: While all of Marchand, Pastrnak, and Bergeron continue to produce, it’s Bergeron in particular that is a marvel to behold. At 36-years-old he has 8 goals and 16 points in 17 games and is nearly a whopping 64% in the faceoff circle. He is remarkably consistent (career 933 points in 1160 games, 57.5 faceoff %). And, to boot, he doesn’t have nearly as an annoying face/attitude/general disposition/existence as Marchand.