Sabres vs. Islanders: Key Players and Match Insights

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00:00Sabres versus the Islanders. I just mentioned the fact that

00:08Matthew Barzell will not be in the mix-up. Isles have been struggling to

00:10find the back of the net and they have had equal opportunities in terms of

00:14shots on goal and creating scoring chances as the New York Rangers take

00:17that into consideration. Regardless, Sabres' second period puck line plus 164

00:22here. With a lot of the question marks, they still have great full tending, them

00:26being the Isles. Sorokin has been off the charts. Rylemoff has been great too.

00:29But it's the push and the momentum swing that the Buffalo Sabres challenged top

00:33teams in the league with in that second period. I like it. Let's keep it up. Then

00:36AJ Paterka, one plus point. I like this because of his consistency and what he

00:40brings to creating rushes and helping out everybody else. You talk about the

00:44Sabres, you always want to talk about Tage Thompson and while he is fantastic,

00:47so is Alex Tuck. It's Paterka who's really gonna help create those odd man

00:50rushes and get things going for this team to get past good goal tending and a

00:55pretty big defense. I say big in terms of size because the Islanders are very

00:58sizable out there. Moving on to Lafreniere, three plus shots on goal. He

01:02leads the Rangers when it comes to shot attempts. Now, I went on a whole spiel

01:06beforehand of the fact that he's got a lot of patience and maturity to his game

01:10this season. But most importantly, finding those lanes to send the puck

01:14towards the net, it's really just been fantastic. So, Lafreniere to pick up

01:17three plus shots on goal, I'm a big fan of that. Plus, Senators are nothing to mess

01:21with when it comes to the challenge because here and there they've been a

01:24little bit more stout when it comes to the defensive game. Also, not letting too

01:28many more pucks pass them. Their issues last season was the turnovers and then

01:31people were capitalizing off those top turnovers. Another key guy, Drake

01:35Patterson, one plus point that's coming in at minus 130. He's been a consistent

01:40guy for the Senators as of late. I already did my whole spiel when it comes

01:45to Kyle Connor, hence why he's one of my stars of the week. But did you guys

01:49remember the numbers versus the competition? Three-point game, four-point

01:53game, two-point game, four points more particularly versus the Leafs team that

01:56should have presented a larger challenge there. I'm taking Connor for

01:59two plus points at plus money of 210. You want to see Winnipeg play a more

02:04consistent game. Now, the Blue Jackets are not to be dismissed. They're actually

02:07one of the top five teams when it comes to goals against. They've made it more

02:10complicated for offenses to go to work on them. So, I think that Kyle Connor and

02:15his game as of late will definitely pull through. Speaking of the Blue Jackets,

02:18Cole Sillinger over just half a point at plus money of 110. Give it to me all day

02:22because this kid has been really hot in helping out his team. Five points in the

02:26last four games, three-point night versus the Oilers. And I know, this Oilers team

02:30is not what we were talking about last year. But regardless, it's the

02:32consistency. And when you're the age of Sillinger, when you're in the position

02:36that Sillinger is in, it's these confident plays that roll over into one

02:39another. I think that you just go with the guy staying hot.

02:41Bolts third period, puck line plus 156. And BitLightning's gonna want some payback

02:45versus the Minnesota Wild. Another team not letting up a number of goals. They

02:49had a lot of control in that matchup on home ice, but their ability to give up

02:52games in the second and third period are just really tough. They're gonna make

02:55some course corrections. A key contributor to that is gonna be Brendan

02:58Hagel. One plus point. But you can't talk about the Minnesota Wild without talking

03:02about Kro Kaprizov. So just take him for a goal because his consistency is

03:07undeniable. Plus 115 for a goal today. Five goals in six meets. Nine points in

03:12six games. He's averaging more than a point per game versus the Tampa Bay

03:15Lightning. And it hurts me to say that, but you have to give credit where credit

03:19is due. Then Jake Hensel. Take him for a goal today. Plus 165. 14 points in 13

03:25games and five goals versus Minnesota. And we're seeing the chemistry come to

03:29life between him and Nikita Kucherov. That is a dangerous thing because once

03:33Nikita Kucherov starts trusting you and starts setting you up for plays, you are

03:37in to get the payoff. And Jake Hensel is now starting to catch those big reads

03:41and find those sweet spots. And the timing, more imperfectly, when it comes to

03:45matching pace with Nikita Kucherov. So I think we're in for a great matchup, but

03:48more importantly, a lot of great hockey on this Friday.

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