Sabres Special Teams are a disaster...if we want to fix anything it needs to start there

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Now lets talk about why this PP goal by Reinhart is successful. 

The very thing the Sabres need to do more of happens here. The puck goes down low to Risto at the side of the net. There is lots of evidence that PP's should be run from low to middle instead of from high (point) to low (net front). Here the puck gets low, defenders collapse to cover Risto. Reinhart who was covered opens up in the slot and Risto delivers a nice pass, Sam with a nice shot. 

Now neither of those things involve Reinhart's passing for Risto's net front presence. They happen because the puck is moved low, the defense starts adjusting and Sam sits in the natural space that should open a little. He has a good enough shot that we get the goal, Risto is a good enough passer. 

This is how our pp should be run. You can put Reinhart in Risto's spot, you can put Eichel or Skinner Or Olofsson in Reinhart's spot (you need the quick gather and release of that pass) but the important factor is the puck being moved low to mid or high with a quick shot that follows. 

That is working at present because it is outside what they typically do.  It (Eichel to low man to quick pass to slot for 1 timer) worked really well the 1st couple of games last season as well but got shutdown quickly and never worked again that year.

Similar to how the pass to Olofsson from either Eichel or Dahlin worked well the 1st handful of games, but hasn't worked except on rare occasions since October.

It's good that the PP is finally back on track.  But they still don't move themselves enough when on the PP and will still need to change where the shots come from to sustain the success.