NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.
The Buffalo Sabres (29-29-4) visit the Toronto Maple Leafs (35-18-8) at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TNT, MAX). Then the Detroit Red Wings (33-22-6) face the Colorado Avalanche (38-20-5) at Ball Arena (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, MAX, ALT, SN360).
Here's my breakdown of the games.
Sabres
Pluses: They had two huge wins, 3-2 in overtime at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and 7-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, and followed that up with a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, which was a one-goal game until the final minutes. So they are definitely playing hard. I know center Tage Thompson isn't playing at the level he did last season, but he and Dylan Cozens, forwards Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka and defensemen Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin, give the Sabres more than a handful of players who contribute on offense. Buffalo also has been riding goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen this season, and he has been outstanding with 19 wins, a 2.46 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and four shutouts (tied for fourth in the NHL) in 38 games (35 starts).
Minuses: The 12-season playoff drought likely will continue because of the Sabres' inconsistency. Their longest winning streak this season is three games (Feb. 21-25), and though they've only had two losing streaks of at least three games -- the longest being four (Nov. 30-Dec. 5), they're still a .500 team. For the offensive talent Buffalo has, it should rank higher in the League than 24th in goals per game (2.94) and 26th on the power play (17.0 percent). The Sabres also traded center Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Bowen Byram.
Maple Leafs
Pluses: They have won nine of 11, including victories at the Golden Knights (7-3 on Feb. 22), Avalanche (4-3 on Feb. 24) and against the New York Rangers (4-3 in a shootout Saturday. Of course, a large part of that was thanks to center Auston Matthews (the NHL leader in goals with 53 in 61 games) and forwards William Nylander (83 points; 33 goals, 50 assists in 61 games) and Mitchell Marner (74 points; 25 goals, 50 assists in 60 games). So it's no surprise the Maple Leafs rank second in the League in goals per game (3.61) and second on the power play (27.8 percent).
Minuses: Now that Joseph Woll has returned from a high ankle sprain, let's see if Toronto can get more consistent play from the netminders. Ilya Samsonov has a 3.23 GAA and .883 save percentage and was getting the majority of the starts when Woll was out. The Maple Leafs likely are going to need each goalie during the postseason. Also, after the big three on offense, the drop-off in points is significant; center John Tavares and defenseman Morgan Rielly are next with 45 points each. You hope to have depth scoring come the playoffs, but it's never a guarantee.
Red Wings
Pluses: All in all, they have been really good and have come a long way toward ending that seven-season postseason drought. Forward Alex DeBrincat (53 points; 23 goals, 30 assists in 61 games) has flourished in his first season in Detroit, and forward Lucas Raymond (51 points; 17 goals, 34 assists in 61 games) has stepped up in his third NHL season, on pace for a career high in points. Forward Patrick Kane has come back from hip resurfacing surgery and at 35 years old is a point per game player (31 points; 13 goals, 18 assists in 30 games). Alex Lyon has stabilized the net with 18 wins, a 2.79 GAA, .911 save percentage and two shutouts in 30 games (29 starts) and the top defense pair of Jake Walman and Moritz Seider have also performed very well.
Minuses: They will be without captain Dylan Larkin for about two weeks because of a lower-body injury; he's their leader in goals (26) and points (54) and obviously the leader of the team. Detroit has lost its past two (allowing nine goals) after six straight wins, with teams creeping up on them in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Avalanche
Pluses: They have won three of their past four, including two shutouts, each 5-0 against the Chicago Blackhawks, and have an NHL-leading 24 home wins. Center Nathan MacKinnon, a candidate for the Hart Trophy, voted as the League most valuable player, is tied with Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead in points (105; 39 goals, 66 assists in 63 games) and has at least a point in all 30 home games this season. Forward Mikko Rantanen has 79 points (31 goals, 48 assists in 63 games) but has gotten overlooked because of MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar, who has 66 points (14 goals, 52 assists) in 58 games. The Avalanche have gotten contributions from everyone up and down the lineup, including from the line of Miles Wood, Ross Colton and Logan O'Connor. It's no surprise they're leading the NHL in goals per game (3.65) and rank seventh on the power play (24.2 percent). Furthermore, they acquired defenseman Sean Walker in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Minuses: Colorado is in the middle of the pack in goals against per game (3.06, tied for 17th), which often gets overlooked because of how explosive its offense is. The Avalanche are in third place in the Central Division, perhaps the most competitive in the NHL, behind the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets. They've gone 3-0-0 against the Stars this season, but 0-2-0 against the Jets.
