This thread will make for a good bump.
Apparently the Sabres stars don't score as much because their team doesn't score as much.
Are we just supposed to ignore the fact that Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Kadri are the reason the Leafs score more??
If the Sabres star players were as good as the Leafs star players, they'd score as much. It's really that simple. This idea that players will start scoring more on better teams rarely ever comes to fruition in reality.
Basically. The Leafs in 15-16, before the additions of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander, scored 198 goals that year. The Buffalo Sabres of last season, with Eichel, Reinhart, and O'Reilly, scored 199. For a team that's supposedly equal (or at least close) to the Leafs talent at forward, it's pretty pathetic that they only managed one more goal than a team that was led in scoring by a 45 point Nazem Kadri. Who in the Sabres organization can have the impact on their offense that the Leafs Big Three did for Toronto's? Isn't Eichel supposed to be doing that already?
And not for nothing, but Toronto allowed 246 goals against in 15-16. The 17-18 Sabres? They allowed a whopping 280 this year. Bernier for the Leafs had a save percentage of .907, while Lehner's was .908. However, Bernier's GAA was 2.88 while Lehner's was 3.01. Very similar numbers, so why did Buffalo allow nearly 40 more goals between the two teams? Here's a hint; It's the defence. Dahlin will certainly help when he develops, but that will take time, and it'll take more than just him to fix the Sabre's abysmal D.
Leafs goals against and goals for have both been improving since the 15-16 season, as has their place in the overall standings. They've trended up the past three years. Buffalo on the other hand has steadily been getting worse in both goals against and for, and dropped in the overall standings. For all the boasting of Buffalo's awesome future core, they certainly haven't done much to fill a person with confidence.