The roots of the legend of Zemgus Girgensons stretch beyond the Atlantic Ocean, past the mountains of Western Europe and reach deep into the soil of his native Eastern European land. The ‘Latvian Locomotive’ has engineered quite a name for himself, both in the NHL and in international play.
His heroics drove the Latvian national team into the Olympic Tournament in Sochi in 2014, and the team even put together an impressive win against the Swiss team in pool play. Did I mention he’s the subject of a hip-hop song?
All of these accomplishments are quite impressive, but perhaps most impressive was Girgenson’s 30 point season in 2014-15. On a team that was lucky to score 150 goals in the entire season, Girgenson’s 15 were good enough for fourth on the team – only behind notable scorers Tyler Ennis and Matt Moulson, as well as captain Brian Gionta.
2014 seems like an eternity ago for the Buffalo Sabres and their fans. The Ted Nolan era is certainly one that the city itself would like to forget. Nolan’s ‘let’s go play some hockey, boys’ style of coaching left a lot to be desired, and it made life difficult from Dan Bylsma, who took Nolan’s spot this past summer. A complete lack of a system meant that Bylsma not only had to teach the team his system, but also, he had to teach them how to play hockey again.
There has been a lot of criticism of Girgensons since the Next Chapter Sabres kicked off their season in October. With only five goals and five assists, Girgensons’ ten points are lost in the excitement of Eichel, Reinhart, Ristolainen, and O’Reilly. Relegated to the third line on most nights, Girgensons himself seems to be a bit lost. He floats from wing to center, and back to wing – wherever Bylsma may need him.
Given the inconsistency of Girgensons’ positioning, is it really any surprise that he’s not scoring consistently? If there is one criticism of Bylsma at this point in the season, it is that he juggles the lines too frequently.
As players are shuffled through the lines, they don’t get the chance to form any chemistry with each other. Developing this chemistry is especially important this season, as most of the Sabres’ top six didn’t even play on the team last year. It is true that injuries often force Bylsma’s hand, but even when the lineup is full, the lines don’t stay together for long.
If Girgensons is going to succeed, Bylsma needs to keep him on a consistent line. In order to do so, though, he’s going to have to make some very difficult decisions. In the preseason, Girgensons and Eichel seemed like an incredibly dynamic pair – they had an instant spark. There was no learning curve with the pair. Each understood where the other was going to be on the ice and they played defenses like a well-strung fiddle.
As the season has progressed, though, Girgensons has dropped out of the top six, and completely away from Eichel. The young Latvian is unfortunately billed as a solid third liner, and Bylsma has doubted his eyes and believed the hype. He’s moved Girgensons everywhere but where he needs to be – on a line with Eichel.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and the pudding, in this instance, is Buffalo’s last two games before the All-Star break.
The NHL recently announced Eichel as the third star of the week based on his 4-point performance in these two games, and surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), Girgensons flanked Eichel for both of these games. In the first, a tough loss against the Rangers, Girgensons scored back-to-back goals just over a minute apart. Both assists went to Eichel. The first play is shown below; It encapsulates perfectly the dynamic that these two teammates have and underlines exactly why Girgensons and Eichel should consistently play on the same line.
The Sabres don’t have much to lose at this point, but they do have a lot to gain.
Giving these two very young and very talented players the time they need to develop into one of the league’s top pairs should be a priority for the team. Burying Girgensons on the third line does him no good, and it doesn’t help the team, either.
As the team grows into what is predicted to be a Stanley Cup competitor, Bylsma is going to have to take some chances and put his faith in his players. This is a great opportunity for the coach to demonstrate that he believes in his players, and inspire his players to believe in him, which is absolutely necessary if the Sabres really are destined for greatness.
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