Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-1-2018
The Buffalo Sabres began 2018 with an overtime loss to the NY Rangers in the 10th annual Bridgestone Winter Classic at Citi Field. From thence they went on a four-game losing streak and proceeded to drop six of seven. And it wasn't just the fact that six losses were pinned on them, it was also how they lost. The Sabres got thumped three times by a combined 20-7 vs. the Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars with the Stars game being a humiliating 7-1 loss.
Had it not been for a western Canada road trip where they went 3-0-0 in wins over the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks by a combined 11-1 score, January could've gotten even uglier.
When all was said and done Buffalo finished the month 4-7-1.
From a defensive standpoint, the Sabres goaltending took a hit as their 3.30 goals-against average dipped slightly below the 2014-15 tank season (3.28.) Add that poor goaltending performance to a team that's still last in the league in goals-for (2.30/game) and you get manic swings producing a paltry, yet somewhat surprising record for the month.
There was a definitive change in special teams production last month as the powerplay picked up but the penalty kill took a step back. After leading the league in powerplay efficiency last season the Sabres took a dive to second-last and they weren't able to dig out of it until this past month. Buffalo went 11/41 in January with the man advantage (26.8%) and moved from 30th to 26th overall.
That, however, was off-set by their penalty kill which took a precipitous drop from 12th to 23rd overall. The Sabres allowed 10 goals on 31 kills (67.7%) in January bringing their overall kill rate from 81.9% down to 78.6%.
Other than that, it was status quo for the team--last in the division, last in the Eastern Conference, 30th in the league and 30th in goal differential (-51.)
The trade deadline is coming up and a quick note. Sparse rumors have been floating around concerning Buffalo goalie Robin Lehner. After getting shelled through much of the first three weeks of January, Lehner was able to string together back-to-back shutouts against the Oilers and Canucks. Only three teams have worse goaltending than Buffalo. Two of them--the Arizona Coyotes and Ottawa Senators--are firmly planted at or near the bottom of the league with the Sabres. The other is the NY Islanders.
The Islanders have the worst goalie tandem in the league in Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss yet are only one point out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, mainly because they're averaging a third-best 3.27 goals/game.
Isles forward John Tavares is coming up on free agency this summer and they have an extra first and second round pick (via Calgary) in the upcoming NHL Draft. One of those picks (a second rounder) may be used to upgrade goaltending in an attempt to make the playoffs and hopefully have an impact in the post season.
Just some food for thought.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats (League Rankings)...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3, (T-29th)...(STL, TBL, 10)
--November: 6, (T-29th)...(TBL, STL, TOR, 17)
--December: 10, (29th)...(TBL, 28)
--January: 14, (29th)...(TBL, 34)
--2016-17: 33 (25th)...(WSH, 55)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
--2013-14: 21 (30th)...(BOS, 54)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 8th...(TBL)
--November: 8th...(TBL)
--December: 8th...(TBL)
--January: 8th...(TBL)
--2016-17: 8th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
--2013-14: 8th...(BOS)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 16th...(TBL)
--November: 16th...(TBL)
--December: 16th...(TBL)
--January: 16th...(TBL)
--2016-17: 15th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
--2013-14: 16th...(BOS)
League standing/Points
--October: 29th/8...(TBL/21)
--November: T-30th/16...(TBL/36)
--December: 30th/28...(TBL/58)
--January: 30th/37...(TBL/71)
--2016-17: 26th/78...(WSH/118)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
--2013-15: 30th/52...(BOS/117)
Points Percentage
--October: .333 (30th)...(STL, TBL/.808)
--November: .320 (30th)...(TBL/.720)
--December: .368 (30th)...(TBL/ .763)
--January: .370 (30th)...(VGK/ .714)
--2016-17: .476 (26th)...(WSH, .720)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
--2013-14: .317 (30th)...(BOS, .713)
Goal Differential
--October: -15 (30th)...(TBL, +17)
--November: -30 (30th)...(TBL, +25)
--December: -42 (30th)...(TBL, +51)
--January: -51 (30th)...(TBL, +48)
--2016-17: -36 (24th)...(WSH, +81)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
--2013-14: -91 (30th)...(BOS, +84)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.42 (29th)...(TBL, 4.08)
--November: 2.20 (31st)...(NYI, 3.67)
--December: 2.21 (31st)...(TBL, 3.74)
--January: 2.30 (31st)...(TBL, 3.48)
--2016-17: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.39)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
--2013-14: 1.83 (30th)...(ANA, 3.21)
Shots/Game
--October: 31.5 (17th)...(MTL, 38)
--November: 30.9 (20th)...(CAR, 35.7)
--December: 30.9 (19th)...(PIT, 34.9)
--January: 30.9 (21st)...(FLA, 34.6)
--2016-17: 30.4 (15th)...(PIT, 33.5)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
--2013-14: 26.3 (30th)...(SJS, 34.8)
5v5 Goals
--October: 18 (19th)...(CLB, 28)
--November: 37 (29th)...(TOR, 66)
--December: 55 (29th)...(TOR, 92)
--January: 71 (31st)...(NYI, 118)
--2016-17: 126 (28th)...(MIN, 187)
--2015-16: 121 (28th)...(DAL, 167)
--2014-15: 110 (29th)...(TBL, 181)
--2013-14: 96 (30th)...(ANA, 190)
Powerplay
--October: 14.3 (23rd)...(DAL, 30.8)
--November: 12.8 (30th)...(TBL, 27.4)
--December: 12.4 (30th)...(TBL, 25.7)
--January: 16.2 (26th)...(PIT, 26.7)
--2016-17: 24.5 (1st)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
--2013-14: 14.1 (29th)...(PIT, 23.4)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 3.58 (27th)...(LAK, 2.00)
--November: 3.36 (28th)...(SJS, 2.17)
--December: 3.29 (28th)...(LAK, 2.33)
--January: 3.30 (28th)...(LAK, 2.42)
--2016-17: 2.82 (19th)...(WSH, 2.16)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
--2013-14: 2.96 (25th)...(LAK, 2.05)
Shots against/Game
--October: 32.5 (19th)...(SJS, 28.7)
--November: 31.2 (T-11th)...(SJS, 28.7)
--December: 32.4 (23rd)...(CAR, 29.6)
--January: 32.6 (24th)...(CAR, 29.2)
--2016-17: 34.3 (30th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
--2013-14: 34.3 (28th)...(NJD, 25.5)
Penalty Kill
--October: 82.5 (11th)...(LAK, 93.0)
--November: 81.1 (13th)...(LAK, 89.5)
--December: 81.9 (12th)...(LAK, 87.1)
--January: 78.6 (23rd)...(LAK, 86.2)
--2016-17: 77.6 (25th)...(BOS, 85.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
--2013-14: 81.4 (20th)...(NJD, 86.4)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 50.4 (18th)...(OTT, 53.9)
--November: 51.4 (11th)...(PHI, 53.0)
--December: 51.2 (9th)...(WPG, 52.8)
--January: 51.1 (11th)...(PHI, 52.9)
--2016-17: 49.6 (17th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
--2013-14: 46.8 (29th)...(NSH, 53.1)
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