Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-1-2016
The Buffalo Sabres finished the month of October on a high note with two convincing wins vs. the Florida Panthers and at the Winnipeg Jets by a combined 6-1 score. With only eight games played thus far scores like that have a definitive impact on stats this early in the season. The two wins pushed Buffalo's record to 3-3-2 and is a positive step forward compared to last season when they went 2-6 through their first eight games.
All the general metrics for team stats are on pace with or better when compared to how they finished last season except for shots on goal/game, which might give the Corsi Brigage of the Analytics Army cause for concern. Last season the Sabres finished No. 1 in the league in shots on goal/game for the month of October (11 games total) and sat seventh in the division, 14th in the conference, 24th in the league. Kinda reminds me what the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing this season.
The Sabres had a pretty good month, save for their middling record, considering that they were without two top six forwards in Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, not to mention starting goaltender Robin Lehner was felled by illness and was out of the lineup for three games. One of the games Lehner was sidelined for was against the Philadelphia Flyers, a game Buffalo should have won, but didn't after giving up a three goal, third period lead and losing in the shootout. Still, with eight points in eight games, they're ahead of last year's pace when the Sabres didn't get their eighth point until the 11 game.
Special teams are ruling the day for the Sabres as they're seventh in the league on both the powerplay and the penalty kill. Goals/game is up even though shots on goal is down while their goals-against is down with the same number of shots against they finished last season with. All-in-all they've managed a -1 goal-differential on the season which is a far cry from their minus-12 through eight games last season.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: 50 (T-15th)...(MTL, 94.4)
--2015-16: 49.4 (23d)...(WSH, 73.2)
--2014-15 32.9 (30th)...(NYR, 68.9)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--2015-16: 2.62, (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
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