The Buffalo Sabres have had an identity crises through much of their decade-long slog through the wasteland of mediocrity and worse. About the only time were we were sure what kind of team we had came during the tank years of 2013-15 and the defensive-minded 2009-10 team that featured a Vezina-winning goaltender in Ryan Miller, Calder-winning defenseman Tyler Myers and a defensive-minded team that posted the NHL's fourth-best goals-against average. The years in and around those were littered with inconsistencies from an organization that couldn't figure out who they were or what they wanted to be and players who wanted to be something they weren't.
It would seem as if this edition of the Sabres is in a similar conundrum as the team they'd really like to be doesn't match up with the talent on hand. No doubt Buffalo has acquired some skill via the draft and trades while also upping their overall team speed, but they're still far removed from the elite teams in the league and in the process of trying to be like them, or act like them, they forgot certain tried and true aspects of the game, like defense.
For those who've followed this team for over a decade, this is nothing new. Former head coach Lindy Ruff had the same problems for a number of years following their back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances when the talent-level took a dive after losing Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. The team he had on hand wanted to play an up-tempo game but they didn't have the horses to succeed, at least on a consistent basis, so back and forth they went--sometimes in season, sometimes season-to-season--in search of an identity. Lost in all of this was defense and we see the same themes cropping up today--"playing a 200' game," "don't cheat up ice," and "collapsing in front of the net"--as we did with the Sabres of 10 years ago.
Nearly everyone in Sabreland, this blogger included, would really like to see the Sabres play an up-temp game like Tampa, Toronto or Calgary plays, on a nightly basis. However the reality is such that there's a talent discrepancy that prevents it from happening and what we have in Buffalo is a good hockey team with some noticeable talent and a lot of holes, similar to a large number of playoff-bubble teams in both conferences.
Much to the dismay of the analytics community and those who watch games to be entertained, the Buffalo Sabres of late have been focusing upon defense and have won two of three games (by identical 3-1 scores.) This was after a very entertaining game of shinny with the Carolina Hurricanes where they lost in 6-5 in overtime. The word "boring," or some variation thereof, was used often last night on social media and in chat rooms and it's hard to understand the driving force behind someone's decision to watch and follow a team. Would you rather see an entertaining 6-5 loss or a boring 3-1 win?
For a team and fanbase that hasn't seen the playoffs in seven seasons, the latter should be of the utmost importance and if it proves to be unfulfilling from a spectator standpoint, perhaps spending 2 1/2 hours watching Gladiator will satisfy one's need to be entertained.
Buffalo played some pretty good hockey these past three games and certainly played well enough to win all of them. A breakdown against Winnipeg (helped along by a pick play by the Jets that went uncalled and lead to the game-wining goal) kept them from a three-game winning streak (as well as a five-game point streak,) but even with the loss they've managed to keep pace with the rest of the playoff-bubble teams in the Eastern Conference. The hockey they played in those games was defense-oriented, the exact same style of play that the NY Islanders rode from playoff-bubble team to the top of the Metropolitan Division this season.
The Sabres ended up beating the Islanders at their own game last night and did so with their best player, Jack Eichel, being their best player and their goaltender, Linus Ullmark, coming up big when necessary. Having those anchors allowed the rest of the team to take what was given them while maintaining a sense of composure through much of the contest. Jeff Skinner and Jason Pominville scored as a direct result of Eichel's work and Ullmark was able to get into a groove thanks to a team committed to limiting prime scoring opportunities.
Sabres head coach Phil Housley lauded Eichel and his linemates not only for scoring and their work in the offensive zone, but for their back check as well. Eichel was asked by the gathered media about the team buying in defensively and putting forth three efficient efforts these last three games and he said that "there was a lot of desperation to keep the puck out of our own end."
That's in the realm of playoff talk and it's good to hear, especially from a team that had given up 16 goals in the first three games of this homestand. Playing a defense-focused game is not rocket science, it's about desperation and doing everything in one's power to either get the puck or keep it out of your own net. It ain't flashy, it ain't exciting and it certainly won't entertain the masses, but it works. Always has and always will.
There are 26 games left in the regular season for Buffalo and they're right on the cusp of a playoff spot. Sorry (not sorry) the way they've stayed in the race is rather boring to some, but the payoff could be the NHL playoffs. It's been seven years and this blogger will sacrifice entertainment for the excitement of the best playoffs in sports.
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