Sunday, January 23, 2011

january's coming to a close

at the beginning of this month we looked at the upcoming scedules for the top four teams in the northeast division...going by (a loose definition) strength of schedule, it wasn't too much of a stretch to think that the sabres could gain a little ground on both boston and montreal:


the northeast division standings as of january 1:
  • boston--45 points
  • montreal--44
  • ottawa--37
  • buffalo--34
the northeast division standings as of january 8:
  • boston--49 points
  • montreal--49
  • buffalo--41
  • ottawa--38
the northeast division standings as of january 23:
  • boston--61 points
  • montreal--59
  • buffalo--47
  • ottawa--41

games played, opponents to finish the month of january
  • boston--48...@ los angeles, vs. florida
  • montreal--49...@ philadelphia
  • buffalo--47...@ ny islanders, @ ottawa
  • ottawa--49...vs. buffalo

the ottawa senators have now slipped to last in the division, being overtaken by toronto, something we'll address next month, after the all-star break...

even though the sabres have gone 6-3-1 this month (13 out of a possible 20 points,) which is a pace they'll need to keep if they want to get into the playoff mix, they still lost ground in the northeast division with boston garnering 16 points out of a possible 24 and montreal snagging 15 out of 20...

not exactly what we were looking for this month, but the sabres are gaining ground on the 7-9 eastern conference teams:  ny rangers, atlanta, carolina and are jockeying with florida for 10th...

three more days until the all-star break, four big points on the board beginning today on long island...

6 comments:

  1. aside from the 2 islander games, team had a great month so far and have lost ground.

    Solid blog boos

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  2. right on, homie...that's four points lost, though...even two would've at least kept them on pace with the division leaders...

    the northeast top-three had a great month as a whole...

    the three teams from the southeast that buffalo is chasing all fared worse than the sabres:
    atlanta--3-3-3...nine of a possible 18 points
    carolina--6-4-2...14 out of 24
    florida--5-3-3...13 out of 22

    and that's cool, because it tightens things up...

    caveat: i'm not sure what to expect from the sabres, but i thought that january represented a good opportunity for them to get some points and move up the northeast...unfortunately, the b's and habs are having a slightly stronger month thus far

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  3. Who knows what to expect from the Sabres. Damn, they really lost an opportunity when they lost the two Islander games. Those are games you have to win. I think the Sabres can get in the playoffs though, b/c Atlanta will fold. (Buffman74)

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  4. It's mind blowing that we went 7-3-1 so far in January and didn't make up more ground. Even though we are playing better, as you pointed out boos, we should have played better with the January schedule. 6 pts out of 8th with 3 games in hand sounds like a good place to be. But there is a very good chance that this is our peak for the season. Hopefully not.

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  5. yeah, i hear ya, keptup...next months schedule is on par with january's, so they should be able to continue at a similiar rate....(i hope)...

    ya just can't tell where this team is headed...

    at least the youngin's are providing a good spark...who knows, it may be enough of a jolt for nieds to actually pot his first goal...

    hmmmm...maybe not

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  6. How can such a ragtag bunch of no-talent players actually be playing .700 hockey lately ?? They are a bad BAD team with no heart but somehow they are gaining points slowly but surely.

    I'm not holding out hope or anything but this is the stretch where the points have to be made up.

    As usual I feel like Charlie Brown running up to kick the ball and, well, you know..


    Good perspective Boos !

    Thanks !

    ReplyDelete