Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who, upon signing the Cullen-Harrison Act which ended Prohibition exclaimed, "I think this would be a good time for a beer," and for Sabres fans as well. As long as we're not caught up in the draft lottery and/or the millions of what-if's that have penetrated deep into the Buffalo sports consciousness, there's plenty to raise a glass to.
It's April 7th and there are two games remaining on the Sabres schedule--two very winnable games on the schedule that could very well net the team 83 points on the season. For those in the front office and behind the bench and on the ice, it's about as rewarding a season as one could get outside of making the playoffs. Indubitably, a toast with Southern Tier's One Buffalo is in order.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Differing perceptions of .500
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Back in February, 2012, the Buffalo Sabres had pulled themselves up to a record of 27-27-7 and former GM Darcy Regier touted the fact that the team had made it to the .500-mark. There were question marks all around with that mention as .500 normally would mean and even number of wins and losses and with an odd number of games played (in this case, 61) it's impossible to reach an that equilibrium. if you include losses plus overtime shootout losses, you get a record of 27-34, which, of course, is no where near .500 hockey.
But, Regier wasn't looking at it that way. While doing his weekly evening radio program with WGR's Mike Schopp and the Bulldog, he was calculating .500 as he said, the NHL was doing it by taking the most possible points and dividing it by two. In the above instance, with 61 games played there were 122 points on the board. With two points for each win and one point for an overtime loss, the Buffalo Sabres had reached 61 points which represents the .500 mark in points-percentage.
With Schopp taking the straight-up wins/losses and Regier taking the points-percentage position, they would go on for a short while discussing numbers and semantics. What was lost in the conversation at the time was why a team who had a $75M payroll after a 2011 off-season spending spree was around .500 to begin with. At that time the Sabres were behind three teams for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and had not made it out of the first round of the playoffs in four years.
That Regier would pull out the .500 card in that context was a source of consternation amongst most Sabres fans. Regier spent oodles of new owner Terry Pegula's money on free agents only to ice yet another middling team and was trying to justify it with a semantic argument.
Fast forward to 2016.
Back in February, 2012, the Buffalo Sabres had pulled themselves up to a record of 27-27-7 and former GM Darcy Regier touted the fact that the team had made it to the .500-mark. There were question marks all around with that mention as .500 normally would mean and even number of wins and losses and with an odd number of games played (in this case, 61) it's impossible to reach an that equilibrium. if you include losses plus overtime shootout losses, you get a record of 27-34, which, of course, is no where near .500 hockey.
But, Regier wasn't looking at it that way. While doing his weekly evening radio program with WGR's Mike Schopp and the Bulldog, he was calculating .500 as he said, the NHL was doing it by taking the most possible points and dividing it by two. In the above instance, with 61 games played there were 122 points on the board. With two points for each win and one point for an overtime loss, the Buffalo Sabres had reached 61 points which represents the .500 mark in points-percentage.
With Schopp taking the straight-up wins/losses and Regier taking the points-percentage position, they would go on for a short while discussing numbers and semantics. What was lost in the conversation at the time was why a team who had a $75M payroll after a 2011 off-season spending spree was around .500 to begin with. At that time the Sabres were behind three teams for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and had not made it out of the first round of the playoffs in four years.
That Regier would pull out the .500 card in that context was a source of consternation amongst most Sabres fans. Regier spent oodles of new owner Terry Pegula's money on free agents only to ice yet another middling team and was trying to justify it with a semantic argument.
Fast forward to 2016.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Rookie Scoring Race Weekly Recap--Panarin pulls away, possible Calder
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Although he hasn't won any NHL Rookie of the Month Awards, Artemi Panarin is having a consistently strong rookie season. Chicago's No. 72 matched his sweater number by hitting the 72-point mark this past week and in doing so, Panarin's the first rookie to hit that mark since his linemate Patrick Kane did so in the 2007-08 season. With four games left he has the opportunity to tie or surpass Paul Stastny's 78 points in 2006-07. Since the NHL lockout in 2004-05, only Alexander Ovechkin (106,) Sidney Crosby (102) and Evgeni Malkin (85) have had better rookie seasons.
There was little doubt that Panarin would take the rookie scoring crown as he went into this past week with a 14 point lead over Buffalo's Jack Eichel. But Panarin would hit the turbo booster leaving the rest in the dust as he lit things up. After failing to hit the scoresheet in his first game last Tuesday, Panarin busted out with a vengeance over the weekend posting back-to-back four-point nights. On Friday he put up two goals and two assists against the Winnipeg Jets and yesterday he scored a goal and added three assists against Boston as his lead over Eichel stretched to 20 points.
Although he hasn't won any NHL Rookie of the Month Awards, Artemi Panarin is having a consistently strong rookie season. Chicago's No. 72 matched his sweater number by hitting the 72-point mark this past week and in doing so, Panarin's the first rookie to hit that mark since his linemate Patrick Kane did so in the 2007-08 season. With four games left he has the opportunity to tie or surpass Paul Stastny's 78 points in 2006-07. Since the NHL lockout in 2004-05, only Alexander Ovechkin (106,) Sidney Crosby (102) and Evgeni Malkin (85) have had better rookie seasons.
There was little doubt that Panarin would take the rookie scoring crown as he went into this past week with a 14 point lead over Buffalo's Jack Eichel. But Panarin would hit the turbo booster leaving the rest in the dust as he lit things up. After failing to hit the scoresheet in his first game last Tuesday, Panarin busted out with a vengeance over the weekend posting back-to-back four-point nights. On Friday he put up two goals and two assists against the Winnipeg Jets and yesterday he scored a goal and added three assists against Boston as his lead over Eichel stretched to 20 points.
Monday, April 4, 2016
O'Reilly joins Sabres' 20-goal club. Lion-eater's goal chases "King"
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
There's a good feeling about the Buffalo Sabres right now as the team is really starting to find their stride. It began in the first period in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the Sabres blitzed the Penguins for three first period goals. On Thursday they manhandled the Mike Babcock-coached Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 and last night under the bright lights of Madison Square Gardens they jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the NY Rangers only :46 into the second period.
The Sabres wound up losing the game against Pittsburgh in the shootout, which many attribute to being a bit young and a little tired as they were on the second game of a back-to-back. The Pens scored four unanswered goals in the second period, including two shorthanded only :24 apart late in the period. They showed plenty of maturity by tying the score, but just couldn't do anything in the shootout.
Last night they got up again as Ryan O'Reilly, who had broken a 24-game goalless drought against Pittsburgh, scored two first period goals to stake the Sabres to a 2-0 lead against the Rangers.
There's a good feeling about the Buffalo Sabres right now as the team is really starting to find their stride. It began in the first period in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the Sabres blitzed the Penguins for three first period goals. On Thursday they manhandled the Mike Babcock-coached Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 and last night under the bright lights of Madison Square Gardens they jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the NY Rangers only :46 into the second period.
The Sabres wound up losing the game against Pittsburgh in the shootout, which many attribute to being a bit young and a little tired as they were on the second game of a back-to-back. The Pens scored four unanswered goals in the second period, including two shorthanded only :24 apart late in the period. They showed plenty of maturity by tying the score, but just couldn't do anything in the shootout.
Last night they got up again as Ryan O'Reilly, who had broken a 24-game goalless drought against Pittsburgh, scored two first period goals to stake the Sabres to a 2-0 lead against the Rangers.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
2015-16 Individual Stats--March
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
In going over individual Buffalo Sabre stats for a rather successful month of March, aside from the usual suspects hitting the top three in most scoring categories, there are some notables that made their presence known.
Sam Reinhart has been consistently hitting the scoresheet all season long and joins the ranks of "usual suspects" like Ryan O'Reilly, fellow rookie Jack Eichel and Evander Kane after yet another strong month. Reinhart was his usual quite self while amassing a total of 12 points in 15 games for the Sabres in March. He scored four goals and added eight assists (five of them primary) with only one goal and one assist coming on the powerplay. In the past two months Reinhart has double his production and now has 40 points on the season.
O'Reilly still leads the team in points (58) even though he only played eight games in March because of an injury. He augmented his team-leading assist total (38) by adding six of them last month and chipped in his first goal in 24 games as well. Eichel, who leads the team in goals (23) and is second in points (51) had another strong month registering 10 points last month on the power of six goals and four assists. And before his injury, Kane continued his late-season push with three goals and six assists in 13 games. He's been shelved for the rest of the season.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has cooled off considerably since the first part of the year, remained in the top-five in scoring despite a sub-par month. O'Reilly, Eichel, Ristolainen, Reinhart and Kane lead the team in points so far this season.
In going over individual Buffalo Sabre stats for a rather successful month of March, aside from the usual suspects hitting the top three in most scoring categories, there are some notables that made their presence known.
Sam Reinhart has been consistently hitting the scoresheet all season long and joins the ranks of "usual suspects" like Ryan O'Reilly, fellow rookie Jack Eichel and Evander Kane after yet another strong month. Reinhart was his usual quite self while amassing a total of 12 points in 15 games for the Sabres in March. He scored four goals and added eight assists (five of them primary) with only one goal and one assist coming on the powerplay. In the past two months Reinhart has double his production and now has 40 points on the season.
O'Reilly still leads the team in points (58) even though he only played eight games in March because of an injury. He augmented his team-leading assist total (38) by adding six of them last month and chipped in his first goal in 24 games as well. Eichel, who leads the team in goals (23) and is second in points (51) had another strong month registering 10 points last month on the power of six goals and four assists. And before his injury, Kane continued his late-season push with three goals and six assists in 13 games. He's been shelved for the rest of the season.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has cooled off considerably since the first part of the year, remained in the top-five in scoring despite a sub-par month. O'Reilly, Eichel, Ristolainen, Reinhart and Kane lead the team in points so far this season.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
2015-16 Team Stats--March
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres season is coming to a close as there are only four games remaining on the schedule. Buffalo has come a long way from where they were last season, which isn't saying a whole helluva lot, but right now they're on pace to come close to 80 points as opposed to last year when they finished last with a meager 54 points. For those tabulating, that's roughly a 50% increase.
One thing you can't measure with stats, however, is the enjoyment of watching this team as opposed to last year's team. There's no comparison between the two as the injection of top-end talent alone has brought a buzz to First Niagara Center. This edition of the Buffalo Sabres had their flaws, but they've also had some electrifying moments that leave fans with a strong sense of anticipation for what lies ahead. For those of you who were lucky enough to be in the building to see Sam Reinhart's no look, tape-to-tape neutral-zone pass to Jack Eichel, and the ensuing bullet that he snapped past Michal Hutchinson against Winnipeg last Friday, the roar told the story. It's pretty exciting right now and we know the team will only get better as players mature and more talent is added into the mix.
The 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres season is coming to a close as there are only four games remaining on the schedule. Buffalo has come a long way from where they were last season, which isn't saying a whole helluva lot, but right now they're on pace to come close to 80 points as opposed to last year when they finished last with a meager 54 points. For those tabulating, that's roughly a 50% increase.
One thing you can't measure with stats, however, is the enjoyment of watching this team as opposed to last year's team. There's no comparison between the two as the injection of top-end talent alone has brought a buzz to First Niagara Center. This edition of the Buffalo Sabres had their flaws, but they've also had some electrifying moments that leave fans with a strong sense of anticipation for what lies ahead. For those of you who were lucky enough to be in the building to see Sam Reinhart's no look, tape-to-tape neutral-zone pass to Jack Eichel, and the ensuing bullet that he snapped past Michal Hutchinson against Winnipeg last Friday, the roar told the story. It's pretty exciting right now and we know the team will only get better as players mature and more talent is added into the mix.
Friday, April 1, 2016
The Bylsma-Sabres/Babcock-Leafs season series concludes tonight at Buffalo
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
A little over seven years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired head coach Michel Therrien and promoted Dan Bylsma to coach the team on an interim basis. GM Ray Shero made the decision with the Penguins out of a playoff spot and said at the time, "I didn't like the direction in which the team was headed."
That direction had Pittsburgh five points out of a playoff spot and floundering the season after taking the Detroit Red Wings to Game-6 of the 2007-08 Stanley Cup Finals. They still had plenty of star-power and some very talented players, but the magic was gone. Bylsma's approach to coaching in that situation would be very simple. He had a highly-skilled, very fast team at his disposal and he wanted them to use those talents aggressively, "We need to force teams to deal with the quality of players we have at every position," he said at the time.
Dave Molinari, covered the press conference for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and even felt compelled to include a phonetic pronunciation of Bylsma's name, (BYL-zmuh.) In a rather short article that included the above quotes he concluded, "Whether that name becomes one of the most celebrated in franchise history, or nothing more than a footnote, will be determined by how the next two months play out."
A little over seven years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired head coach Michel Therrien and promoted Dan Bylsma to coach the team on an interim basis. GM Ray Shero made the decision with the Penguins out of a playoff spot and said at the time, "I didn't like the direction in which the team was headed."
That direction had Pittsburgh five points out of a playoff spot and floundering the season after taking the Detroit Red Wings to Game-6 of the 2007-08 Stanley Cup Finals. They still had plenty of star-power and some very talented players, but the magic was gone. Bylsma's approach to coaching in that situation would be very simple. He had a highly-skilled, very fast team at his disposal and he wanted them to use those talents aggressively, "We need to force teams to deal with the quality of players we have at every position," he said at the time.
Dave Molinari, covered the press conference for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and even felt compelled to include a phonetic pronunciation of Bylsma's name, (BYL-zmuh.) In a rather short article that included the above quotes he concluded, "Whether that name becomes one of the most celebrated in franchise history, or nothing more than a footnote, will be determined by how the next two months play out."
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