Pluses, minuses for Sabres-Blue Jackets, Rangers-Golden Knights

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Buffalo Sabres (11-13-1) visit the Columbus Blue Jackets (8-14-2) at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN NOW). Then the New York Rangers (12-10-5) play the Vegas Golden Knights (19-7-1) at T-Mobile Arena (10 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, MSGN, SN NOW).

Here’s my breakdown of the games.

Sabres at Blue Jackets

Sabres

Pluses: Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin have played great all season and Jeff Skinner (27 points in 25 games) is more than a point per game player who had 33 goals and 63 points in 80 games last season. Dylan Cozens is having his best season with 24 points in 25 games and Alex Tuch has 24 points in 25 games, on pace for his most in a season (52 in 74 games for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19). Craig Anderson, the oldest player in the NHL at 41, has a 2.87 GAA and .916 save percentage, which is more than encouraging. There have definitely been some good signs for them this season, and I like what coach Don Granato is doing.

Video: COL@BUF: Thompson scores PPG in final seconds of 1st

Minuses: The Sabres seem to get off to good starts every season before going in a downward spiral. After starting 7-3-0, they lost eight straight and have been trying to find their footing ever since. They’re No. 2 in goals per game (3.80) but 28th in goals against (3.68) and 27th on the penalty kill (70.6 percent). 

Blue Jackets

Pluses: Expectations were high after signing Johnny Gaudreau, one of the most sought-after players in free agency, but it hasn’t been a great season for the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau had a slow start but has turned it on and leads them in points (27) and is tied with captain Boone Jenner for their lead in goals (nine). Patrik Laine has been good when healthy, which unfortunately hasn’t been much this season. However, it has given them an opportunity for some of their younger players to get ice time, be it Kent Johnson or Cole Sillinger or Yegor Chinakov.

Video: VGK@CBJ: Gaudreau puts Blue Jackets on the board

Minuses: It’s been a struggle for them all season, and they’re coming off a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. They have lost five of six (1-4-1) and have had lots of injuries, but the one that hurts them the most is Zach Werenski, who is out for the season after shoulder surgery. He does it all for them and is always among the NHL leaders in ice time per game.

Rangers at Golden Knights

Rangers

Pluses: Artemi Panarin (30 points), Mike Zibanejad (29 points), Adam Fox (28 points) and Chris Kreider (23 points) continue to be the leaders of this team. But can the young players step up and provide production? That will be the key. The kids have to produce more (Alexis Lafreniere, 12 points; Filip Chytil 11 points; Kaapo Kakko, eight points) if the Rangers want to stitch together two wins in a row, something they’ve only done four times this season.

Video: STL@NYR: Kreider speeds ahead for shorthanded goal

Minuses: They got their first win when trailing after two periods when they defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-4 on Monday. Prior to that, they had lost five of six. For a team that made the Eastern Conference Final last season, they’ve been way too inconsistent. We know the talent is there, but there are a lot of parts of their game that aren’t working right now.

Golden Knights

Pluses: There’s a lot to like, and they’re excelling in all facets of the game. Offensively, they have six players (Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson, Shea Theodore, Alex Pietrangelo and Jonathan Marchessault) with at least 20 points. Goalies Logan Thompson (13-5-0, 2.55 GAA, .921 save percentage) and Adin Hill (6-2-1, 2.55 GAA, .908 save percentage) have been great and they’re in the top 12 in goals for and goals against per game. Coach Bruce Cassidy has them playing well.

Video: VGK@BOS: Marchessault buries rebound to double lead

Minuses: They could be without Eichel, who missed a 4-3 shootout win against the Boston Bruins on Monday with a lower-body injury. Eichel is their leading scorer with 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 26 games. On special teams, they could use some improvement, ranking 17th on the power play (22.1 percent) and 24th on the penalty kill (74.3).