Welcome fantasy managers to another edition of the Eastern Edge. This week we'll be looking at the Buffalo Sabres' dominant goaltending, Brandon Bussi's tremendous rookie campaign, and the Ottawa Senators' push towards the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Let's get to it!

We have all witnessed the incredible run that the Buffalo Sabres have been on for the better part of three months since GM Jarmo Kekkalainen took over from former GM Kevyn Adams.

Since December 1st, the Sabres own the league best record in the NHL, going 28-8-2 during that span while ranking second offensively at 3.71 goals per game played. Buffalo has stepped up defensively over the course of the last three months as well, ranking fifth overall at 2.63 goals against per game played. This has also led the Sabres to the number one spot as it relates to goal differential during that timeframe at +41 (seven clear of Colorado at +34)

All that being said, one of the biggest reasons for Buffalo's turnaround has to be the dominant goaltending performances from both journeyman Alex Lyon and homegrown talent in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Over their last 17 games played, the duo is rocking some pretty impressive numbers with Alex Lyon posting a 14-2 record to go along with an immaculate 2.13 goals against and .928 save percentage including a 76.5% quality start rate and 17.52 goals saved above expected. Meanwhile, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been rather impressive in his own right with an 11-4-1 record accompanied by a tidy 2.47 goals against and .916 save percentage including a 70.6% quality start rate and 10.66 goals saved above expected.

Buffalo has been an absolute wagon for some time now and only reinforced their group at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets as well as New York Rangers forward Sam Carrick, adding more depth to the lineup while making this roster even harder to play against.

This team is chock-full of fantasy gold regardless of your league’s format, however, when it comes to the Sabres goaltending there is immense value with either of Buffalo's netminders for the remainder of the NHL campaign. If, for some ridiculous reason one of these goaltenders is available on the waiver wire, I would add him to my roster immediately and reap the rewards.

The Carolina Hurricanes are enjoying an excellent campaign as the organization sits atop the Metropolitan division with just under twenty games remaining. The fact that the 'Canes are leading the division is not at all surprising, however, the goaltender that has been the backbone in taking them there is.

In what has been the feel-good story of the year, 27-year-old rookie netminder Brandon Bussi is having a season to remember as the undrafted American has filled in admirably for the injury-prone duo of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. Bussi is quite simply making the most of his opportunity with some phenomenal numbers to back it up as the 6'4" 218lbs netminder has fashioned an incredible 25-4-1 record accompanied by a 2.34 goals against and .899 save percentage including a 60.0% quality start rate and 4.50 goals saved above expected.

Bussi has to be given full credit for the manner in which he has performed this year but is also the benefactor of an extremely structured system in front of him with the Carolina Hurricanes often tilting the ice in their favor. Per game played, Carolina currently ranks first overall in shots against (23.9), second in shots for (31.9), and first in shot differential (+8.0).

That being said, fantasy managers will want to monitor his outings moving forward as Bussi has never played more than 41 games in any given season of pro hockey (Providence Bruins – AHL 2023-2024). Over his last 10 games played, he's sporting a 9-1 record with a 2.51 goals against and .889 save percentage including a 40.0% quality start rate and -4.10 goals saved above expected. Bussi level of play dips even further over his last five games segment with a 4-1 record accompanied by a bloated 3.22 goals against and .864 save percentage which includes a lowly 20.0% quality start rate and -6.16 goals saved above expected.

The sensational rookie may be starting to feel the grind of being a number-1 netminder at the NHL level. I would expect veteran Andersen to get in a few extra starts over the course of the last 20 games or so to keep Bussi from burning out while at the same time staying fresh for the team’s postseason run. Something for fantasy managers to monitor closely for the reminder of the campaign.

The Ottawa Senators have had a challenging campaign to say the least, however, with their recent hot streak (7-1-2 in their last ten games played) the Sens find themselves with    

an outside shot at forcing their way into the playoff picture. The return of number one netminder Linus Ullmark, who was on a leave of absence for roughly a month, has been the driving force behind the club's recent heater. Ullmark has a record of 5-0-2 with a solid 2.41 goals against and .896 save percentage including a 57.1% quality start rate and -4.04 goals saved above expected.

The team in front of him has done more than their part as well with the Senators ranking second overall in goals against per game played (2.20), second in shots against per game played (21.5) and second in shot differential (+8.9) over the team's last 10 games played thus offering their netminder some much needed support. The forward group has been rather productive of late as well with the uber talented Tim Stutzle posting 17 points in his last 13 games played, first line winger Drake Batherson with 6 points in his last 5 games played, captain Brady Tkachuk putting up 7 points in his last 7 contests and the workhorse from Whitehorse Dylan Cozens producing 6 points in his last 5 games played. The underlying numbers have been in Ottawa's favour for most of the year, they were just not getting the necessary saves out of their goaltending. However, with Ullmark having stabilized the crease, the group can play with a little more freedom as evidenced by their recent hot spell.

A mere three points out of the second wild card spot (currently held by Boston) bodes well for an Ottawa Senators team that looks to be hitting their stride just in time to make that final push towards a postseason berth.

That's it for this week folks. Be sure to keep an eye out for the Weekend Waiver Wire over at the Goalie Post each and every Friday morning for potential streaming options heading into the weekend.

Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on X @mikeouellet9 or BlueSky @mikeouellet9.bsky.social

(All stats courtesy of: Dobber's Frozen Tools)

See you all again next Tuesday!