Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-30-2019
So your the Buffalo Sabres heading into the second game of a home-and-home against a division rival while being outscored 22-10 on a very treacherous 1-4-1 slide with a weak forward group even weaker due to injury. The team you're playing is the Boston Bruins, who sit third in the NHL, have the NHL's best goal differential (+33,) the league's second best goals-against average (2.42,) are seventh in goals/game (3.40,) and have the third best powerplay (26.7%) and the third-best penalty kill (84.7%.) The keys to victory revolve around playing your game while limiting mistakes and keeping it close in a place where the home team has lost only once all season.
Such was the task at hand for the Sabres last night and props to them for playing their game. Buffalo took it to Boston much of the night but the Bruins did what most top teams do while facing weaker opponents--take advantage of miscues.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Monday, December 30, 2019
December quick hits--the forwards
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-27-2019
A sense of normalcy returns to the Buffalo Sabres as they take on the Boston Bruins tonight. Buffalo says good bye to a rather rigorous opening 2 1/2 months to the season which saw them with compacted schedules before and after the 11 total days spent participating in the 2019 Global Series. The trip to Stockholm, Sweden had them play a back-to-back set with the Tampa Bay Lightning with a total of nine days surrounding their arrival and return from Sweden.
After a rough early November, consecutive losses to Tampa in Stockholm and a sluggish post-Global Series return, their poor record balanced out their hot start and when you add inconsistent play for the remainder of their 21 games in 39-day stretch, you have a team that is presently 17-14-7 coming out of the Christmas break. Those 41 points have them on a pace for 88 points which is at the higher end of the preseason general consensus.
A sense of normalcy returns to the Buffalo Sabres as they take on the Boston Bruins tonight. Buffalo says good bye to a rather rigorous opening 2 1/2 months to the season which saw them with compacted schedules before and after the 11 total days spent participating in the 2019 Global Series. The trip to Stockholm, Sweden had them play a back-to-back set with the Tampa Bay Lightning with a total of nine days surrounding their arrival and return from Sweden.
After a rough early November, consecutive losses to Tampa in Stockholm and a sluggish post-Global Series return, their poor record balanced out their hot start and when you add inconsistent play for the remainder of their 21 games in 39-day stretch, you have a team that is presently 17-14-7 coming out of the Christmas break. Those 41 points have them on a pace for 88 points which is at the higher end of the preseason general consensus.
Friday, December 27, 2019
December Quick hits--Goalies and Defensemen
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-26-2019
The Sabres just concluded a stretch of 21 games in 39 days with an 8-8-5 record and head into the NHL Christmas break having lost four of their last five games (1-3-1.) All of those losses came on the road and contributed to a 6-11-4 road record that places them near the bottom of the league which is in stark contrast to their 11-3-3 record at home.
For head coach Ralph Krueger and company, having the last change at home gives makes it very difficult for the opposition to matchup their best checking lines against Buffalo's potent top line. The Sabres know how to play a tight road game, and have done so on occasion, but having an inept middle-six up-front makes things extremely difficult and puts plenty of pressure on the defense and goaltending.
The Sabres just concluded a stretch of 21 games in 39 days with an 8-8-5 record and head into the NHL Christmas break having lost four of their last five games (1-3-1.) All of those losses came on the road and contributed to a 6-11-4 road record that places them near the bottom of the league which is in stark contrast to their 11-3-3 record at home.
For head coach Ralph Krueger and company, having the last change at home gives makes it very difficult for the opposition to matchup their best checking lines against Buffalo's potent top line. The Sabres know how to play a tight road game, and have done so on occasion, but having an inept middle-six up-front makes things extremely difficult and puts plenty of pressure on the defense and goaltending.
You know what many in WNY will be doing for some seven hours today?
Getting their fill of the professional sports scene featuring the Sabres and the Bills.
The driving force behind the excitement of a Buffalo doubleheader today really begins with the Buffalo Bills as they head to Foxborough, Massachusetts with the opportunity to tie the New England Patriots in the standings. Buffalo is 10-4 so far this season and has the swagger of a contender ready to knock down the champ and though it might not happen, BillsMafia has no fear as they know the vaunted Patriots era is coming to a close soon and their beloved Bills are on the upswing ready to take their place in the East.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
"21 games to Christmas" comes to a close tonight in Ottawa
Time flies.
It wasn't long ago that the Buffalo Sabres were returning home from Stockholm, Sweden after participating in the 2019 Global Series. Buffalo had just finished a back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sweden and were struggling after losing both of those games which led to a four-game losing streak in tow. The Sabres had a travel day from Stockholm back to the States, two league-mandated days off then one practice before they hit the ice at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Playing in the Global Series meant a compact schedule both prior to and after those two games and after coming home they were looking at a stretch of 21 games in 39 days which head coach Ralph Krueger labeled, "21 games to Christmas."
"The reality is we have the 21 games 'til Christmas and we're breaking it up into little groups. We've got five games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; four games."
It wasn't long ago that the Buffalo Sabres were returning home from Stockholm, Sweden after participating in the 2019 Global Series. Buffalo had just finished a back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sweden and were struggling after losing both of those games which led to a four-game losing streak in tow. The Sabres had a travel day from Stockholm back to the States, two league-mandated days off then one practice before they hit the ice at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Playing in the Global Series meant a compact schedule both prior to and after those two games and after coming home they were looking at a stretch of 21 games in 39 days which head coach Ralph Krueger labeled, "21 games to Christmas."
"The reality is we have the 21 games 'til Christmas and we're breaking it up into little groups. We've got five games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; four games."
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Life without Jack Eichel proved pretty ugly for the Sabres last night
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-20-2019
I had an interesting little twitter exchange with a Leafs fan the other day after the Buffalo Sabres lost 5-3 at Toronto. It started with this tweet from Steve Kournianos of The Draft Analysis:
"All I heard on the radio today was how Jack Eichel's better than Auston Matthews and he (Matthews) doesn't dominate games etc.
Two goals against a surging division rival (Buffalo) and (now) one point out of 2nd place. Huge win. Huge Performance.
You should try to give the kid some credit every now and again."
Friday, December 20, 2019
A crowded Eastern Conference pack, Sabres at Philly and a bit on Jeff Skinner
Seeing the Buffalo Sabres second in the Atlantic Division at this stage of the season is a good sight, especially with the rough patch they went through in November and considering they still have some glaring holes in the lineup. At 16-12-7 their 39 points is places them just barely in front of a group of teams at least 10 points behind the division leading Boston Bruins. The Montreal Canadians and Toronto Maple Leafs are one point behind Buffalo while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are two points behind.
However, as we look at points-percentage in terms of the standings, the Sabres .557 points/game is behind Tampa (.578,) Florida (.561) and Montreal (.559) and in front of Toronto's .543.
As of now this is the pack that will more than likely be battling for spots two and three in the division behind the Bruins. Tampa is the most complete team and despite their choppy start it's not too far of a reach to see them in one of those two spots while Toronto certainly has enough firepower up front to go along with solid goaltending to overcome any shortcomings on defense. The Lightning and Leafs were both considered favorites to be in the Atlantic's top-three prior to the season and they're both beginning to look the part right now.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
This Sabres team has proven itself worthy of a contribution by their GM
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-18-2019
With a 16-12-7 record, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres are on pace for about 91 points, which is above where many pundits thought they would be and far above where most Sabres cynics believed they could hope for. How Buffalo got to this point 35 games into the season is somewhat of a surprise as they started out hot, got ice cold and have been trudging and trending upward since he latter part of November. As of now they're second in the Atlantic Division with three games to go before the Christmas break and they're doing it with basically the same team they had last season when they finished 27th in the league. Unfortunately, Buffalo also carried over a glaring issue from last season, most notably an invisible middle-six forward group.
The top line is fine as long as they have Jack Eichel leading the way. To say he's taken his game to another level might be an understatement as the captain may have jumped two notches over the past month. Eichel is riding an impressive 17-game point-streak which is one game shy from tying a franchise record held by Sabres legend Gilbert Perreault. During his streak Eichel has tallied 16 goals and 15 assists and during this run he's not living off of the lone secondary assist to keep it going as he's had four multi-games and nine multi-point games. The last two games he scored the game-tying goal against the NY Islanders with less than two minutes remaining and last night in Toronto he scored to keep the game within reach.
With a 16-12-7 record, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres are on pace for about 91 points, which is above where many pundits thought they would be and far above where most Sabres cynics believed they could hope for. How Buffalo got to this point 35 games into the season is somewhat of a surprise as they started out hot, got ice cold and have been trudging and trending upward since he latter part of November. As of now they're second in the Atlantic Division with three games to go before the Christmas break and they're doing it with basically the same team they had last season when they finished 27th in the league. Unfortunately, Buffalo also carried over a glaring issue from last season, most notably an invisible middle-six forward group.
The top line is fine as long as they have Jack Eichel leading the way. To say he's taken his game to another level might be an understatement as the captain may have jumped two notches over the past month. Eichel is riding an impressive 17-game point-streak which is one game shy from tying a franchise record held by Sabres legend Gilbert Perreault. During his streak Eichel has tallied 16 goals and 15 assists and during this run he's not living off of the lone secondary assist to keep it going as he's had four multi-games and nine multi-point games. The last two games he scored the game-tying goal against the NY Islanders with less than two minutes remaining and last night in Toronto he scored to keep the game within reach.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Sabres are finding their stride, but they still need that piece
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-15-2019
Yesterday's matinee was a huge challenge for this edition of the Buffalo Sabres. They headed to Long Island, NY to face off against what might be the best defensive team in the National Hockey League. The NY Islanders are a disciplined, hard-working team that chokes off offense and jumps on opportunity when the opposition makes a mistake. Head coach Barry Trotz has his team playing exceptional hockey especially at home, whether it be Nassau Coliseum where they played the Sabres last night, or at Barclay Center in Brooklyn where they'll end up playing 20 of their home games.
The key is to success is getting the lead on the Islanders, something Buffalo failed to do yesterday. Just 5:11 into the game, New York's Michael Del Colle capitalized on an error in judgement by Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark and put the Islanders up 1-0. With a tired group of Buffalo skaters on the ice, Ullmark had an opportunity to cover the puck for a faceoff but decided to keep it in play. His attempted touch-pass to defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was picked off and in the blink of an eye it was behind him.
Yesterday's matinee was a huge challenge for this edition of the Buffalo Sabres. They headed to Long Island, NY to face off against what might be the best defensive team in the National Hockey League. The NY Islanders are a disciplined, hard-working team that chokes off offense and jumps on opportunity when the opposition makes a mistake. Head coach Barry Trotz has his team playing exceptional hockey especially at home, whether it be Nassau Coliseum where they played the Sabres last night, or at Barclay Center in Brooklyn where they'll end up playing 20 of their home games.
The key is to success is getting the lead on the Islanders, something Buffalo failed to do yesterday. Just 5:11 into the game, New York's Michael Del Colle capitalized on an error in judgement by Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark and put the Islanders up 1-0. With a tired group of Buffalo skaters on the ice, Ullmark had an opportunity to cover the puck for a faceoff but decided to keep it in play. His attempted touch-pass to defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was picked off and in the blink of an eye it was behind him.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Wake up ya sleepyheads, there's a 1 p.m. matinee today
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-14-2019
Three wins in a row. That's what the Buffalo Sabres have going for them as they resume play today with a 1 p.m. game against the NY Islanders. Those three wins came against the Western Conference (at Edmonton, vs. St. Louis and Nashville) and they'll be facing off against an Islanders team that shut them out 1-0 in Buffalo on November 2. The loss against the Isles was loss No. 2 in a particularly rough November slide where they went 1-7-1 through the first three weeks.
However, since pulling off a solid win in Florida against the Panthers, Buffalo has put together a nice little streak that includes a 6-2-3 record, the three-game winning streak (their first since October 17-22,) and a four-game points-streak.
Speaking of streaks, the man behind the Sabres resurgence is their, Jack Eichel. The 23 yr. old Buffalo captain is riding a career-best 15-game points streak (14+13) and has scored two-goals in back-to-back games. During that span, beginning November 17, Eichel's 14 goals, 27 points and plus-18 rating leads the league. Through 33 game this season, Eichel has 22 goals (which is second in the league) and 46 points T-fifth.)
Three wins in a row. That's what the Buffalo Sabres have going for them as they resume play today with a 1 p.m. game against the NY Islanders. Those three wins came against the Western Conference (at Edmonton, vs. St. Louis and Nashville) and they'll be facing off against an Islanders team that shut them out 1-0 in Buffalo on November 2. The loss against the Isles was loss No. 2 in a particularly rough November slide where they went 1-7-1 through the first three weeks.
However, since pulling off a solid win in Florida against the Panthers, Buffalo has put together a nice little streak that includes a 6-2-3 record, the three-game winning streak (their first since October 17-22,) and a four-game points-streak.
Speaking of streaks, the man behind the Sabres resurgence is their, Jack Eichel. The 23 yr. old Buffalo captain is riding a career-best 15-game points streak (14+13) and has scored two-goals in back-to-back games. During that span, beginning November 17, Eichel's 14 goals, 27 points and plus-18 rating leads the league. Through 33 game this season, Eichel has 22 goals (which is second in the league) and 46 points T-fifth.)
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Only one blemish on an otherwise great Aud Night.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-13-2019
For those of us who remember the old Memorial Auditorium, seeing the old gold, red, blue and orange section motif brought back some fond memories. Props to the marketing department for draping color T-shirts over the seats to rekindle those memories.
My first memory came via my sister who took me to my first-ever game back in the early 70's. We had standing room only tickets and there was a wall up to that you had to get to fast so that you could see the ice. So up we ran on those ramps all the way to the top and we got ourselves parked on that wall next to the men's rest room. Included in that memory of basically looking straight down on the ice was the smell of cigarettes, stale beer and urine. For those of you looking for a Hallmark memory moment, sorry, that's the way it was and they lost to Vancouver that night as well. There were other memories, mostly of concerts and the treacherous stairs in the orange section during concerts where altered states was the norm from the mid-70's through the early 80's but last night was about hockey and it was Aud Night, a tribute to that grand old building's legacy.
About the only thing better for this particular night would have been for the Sabres to be squaring off against the Boston Bruins as nothing reminds me more of the old Aud than The Buffalo/Boston matchups featuring the French Connection going up against the Big, Bad Bruins. However, it the Sabres organization put on a good show and their hockey team followed it up with a solid 4-3 win in front of a very appreciative crowd at KeyBank Center.
For those of us who remember the old Memorial Auditorium, seeing the old gold, red, blue and orange section motif brought back some fond memories. Props to the marketing department for draping color T-shirts over the seats to rekindle those memories.
My first memory came via my sister who took me to my first-ever game back in the early 70's. We had standing room only tickets and there was a wall up to that you had to get to fast so that you could see the ice. So up we ran on those ramps all the way to the top and we got ourselves parked on that wall next to the men's rest room. Included in that memory of basically looking straight down on the ice was the smell of cigarettes, stale beer and urine. For those of you looking for a Hallmark memory moment, sorry, that's the way it was and they lost to Vancouver that night as well. There were other memories, mostly of concerts and the treacherous stairs in the orange section during concerts where altered states was the norm from the mid-70's through the early 80's but last night was about hockey and it was Aud Night, a tribute to that grand old building's legacy.
About the only thing better for this particular night would have been for the Sabres to be squaring off against the Boston Bruins as nothing reminds me more of the old Aud than The Buffalo/Boston matchups featuring the French Connection going up against the Big, Bad Bruins. However, it the Sabres organization put on a good show and their hockey team followed it up with a solid 4-3 win in front of a very appreciative crowd at KeyBank Center.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Sabres get timely saves/goals and some puck-luck in win over STL
Published by hockeybuz.com, 12-11-2019
There was a string of games in November where nothing seemed to be going right for the Buffalo Sabres. It seemed as if the hockey gods were unhappy with them and in addition to struggles with head coach Ralph Krueger's designs, the Sabres seemed to be hitting an inordinate number of posts while pucks from the opposition were bouncing in from everywhere. Add it all up and you had a Sabres team that followed a 9-2-2 October with a 1-7-1 start to November.
Credit to the Buffalo players for straightening things out and taking care of what they could with Krueger's systems. Beginning with a 3-2 loss in Boston against the Bruins, they began to play the type of game that made them successful in October and they slowly began pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. Buffalo was still struggling in the win column but they were playing a consistent brand of hockey that eventually would lead to last night's 5-2 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues.
There was a string of games in November where nothing seemed to be going right for the Buffalo Sabres. It seemed as if the hockey gods were unhappy with them and in addition to struggles with head coach Ralph Krueger's designs, the Sabres seemed to be hitting an inordinate number of posts while pucks from the opposition were bouncing in from everywhere. Add it all up and you had a Sabres team that followed a 9-2-2 October with a 1-7-1 start to November.
Credit to the Buffalo players for straightening things out and taking care of what they could with Krueger's systems. Beginning with a 3-2 loss in Boston against the Bruins, they began to play the type of game that made them successful in October and they slowly began pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. Buffalo was still struggling in the win column but they were playing a consistent brand of hockey that eventually would lead to last night's 5-2 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Sabres salvage a Buffalo sports Sunday and their road trip
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-9-2019
Late Sunday morning one of the posters on here referred to the upcoming slate of events for both the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills as "brutal." The take was warranted considering the Bills were about an hour away from taking on the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens and the Sabres were set to finish up a three-game Western Canada road swing against the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers, later that night.
Western New York football fans knew what their team was up against as the Bills faced a nightmare in multi-faceted and uber-talented Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as well as a blitz-crazy Baltimore defense that had given offenses fits all season. Winning that game would be a tall order for the Bills and though they came out on the losing end, they walked out of New Era field with a lot of league-wide respect for the game they played against the Super Bowl favorite.
A few hours later the Sabres hit the ice at Roger's Center to minimal expectations as they were in the second game of a back-to-back finishing off their three-games-in-four-night swing. They'd lost the first game in Calgary 4-3 on Thursday, lost 6-5 in overtime the night before in Vancouver and were up against an Oilers team that boasted the top two scorers in the NHL, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. They came through with a 3-2 win in overtime.
Late Sunday morning one of the posters on here referred to the upcoming slate of events for both the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills as "brutal." The take was warranted considering the Bills were about an hour away from taking on the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens and the Sabres were set to finish up a three-game Western Canada road swing against the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers, later that night.
Western New York football fans knew what their team was up against as the Bills faced a nightmare in multi-faceted and uber-talented Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as well as a blitz-crazy Baltimore defense that had given offenses fits all season. Winning that game would be a tall order for the Bills and though they came out on the losing end, they walked out of New Era field with a lot of league-wide respect for the game they played against the Super Bowl favorite.
A few hours later the Sabres hit the ice at Roger's Center to minimal expectations as they were in the second game of a back-to-back finishing off their three-games-in-four-night swing. They'd lost the first game in Calgary 4-3 on Thursday, lost 6-5 in overtime the night before in Vancouver and were up against an Oilers team that boasted the top two scorers in the NHL, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. They came through with a 3-2 win in overtime.
Monday, December 9, 2019
That's one helluva hump the Sabres are trying to get over
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-8-2019
Buffalo Sabres goalie Carter Hutton was at a loss for words last night after their 6-5 overtime loss last night against the Vancouver Canucks, but one of the words he kept circling back to was "frustrating." Last night was the first time in six games the Sabres lost when scoring five or more goals and Hutton was in net for only one (last night) of the last four times Buffalo lit the lamp that much. "It's seems right now it's a little bit here/there now changes the game," he told the gathered media last night as me he manned-up post game and faced questions, "and the nights I'm playing well we don't find the back of the net."
True, to a point. Hutton is 0-5-4 since his last win on October 22 and during this woeful stretch the team scored two or less in six of them which includes being shut out once and being held to one goal on two other occasions. However, the burn actually comes when two of his losses came on overtime when his team scored four goals at home against the Carolina Panthers and five goals yesterday evening at Vancouver.
Buffalo Sabres goalie Carter Hutton was at a loss for words last night after their 6-5 overtime loss last night against the Vancouver Canucks, but one of the words he kept circling back to was "frustrating." Last night was the first time in six games the Sabres lost when scoring five or more goals and Hutton was in net for only one (last night) of the last four times Buffalo lit the lamp that much. "It's seems right now it's a little bit here/there now changes the game," he told the gathered media last night as me he manned-up post game and faced questions, "and the nights I'm playing well we don't find the back of the net."
True, to a point. Hutton is 0-5-4 since his last win on October 22 and during this woeful stretch the team scored two or less in six of them which includes being shut out once and being held to one goal on two other occasions. However, the burn actually comes when two of his losses came on overtime when his team scored four goals at home against the Carolina Panthers and five goals yesterday evening at Vancouver.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
The powerplay is killing the Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-6-2019
Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger has a problem on his hands and although it's no time to panic, his team has been losing valuable points the last month or so because of special teams, most notably an incredibly inept powerplay.
After their 1/8 performance with the man advantage last night in their loss to the Calgary Flames, which includes giving up a shorthanded goal in the second period, the Sabres are now 3/47 (6.38%) on the powerplay through November and into the first two games in December. Of those three goals, only Rasmus Ristolainen's was of significance as opened the scoring in an eventual 3-2 loss at the Boston Bruins. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju's third period powerplay tallyl was goal No. 7 in a 7-1 romp over the New Jersey Devils and Jack Eichel's powerplay goal last night came with :48 seconds left in the third period and the goalie pulled to make the final score 4-3 Calgary.
Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger has a problem on his hands and although it's no time to panic, his team has been losing valuable points the last month or so because of special teams, most notably an incredibly inept powerplay.
After their 1/8 performance with the man advantage last night in their loss to the Calgary Flames, which includes giving up a shorthanded goal in the second period, the Sabres are now 3/47 (6.38%) on the powerplay through November and into the first two games in December. Of those three goals, only Rasmus Ristolainen's was of significance as opened the scoring in an eventual 3-2 loss at the Boston Bruins. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju's third period powerplay tallyl was goal No. 7 in a 7-1 romp over the New Jersey Devils and Jack Eichel's powerplay goal last night came with :48 seconds left in the third period and the goalie pulled to make the final score 4-3 Calgary.
Friday, December 6, 2019
Quick notes in light of the Sabres 7-1 win over New Jersey
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-3-2019
Notes after Buffalo's 7-1 win last night:
--Jack Eichel remains in beast-mode as he extended his point-streak to 10 games just 2:46 into the game as he snuck one through while camping on Louis Domingue's doorstep. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen pinched in along the boards and sent a quick pass to Eichel who was left all alone in the crease. It was Eichel's ninth goal and 19th point during the streak which is just one shy of his career long from February 14-March 7, 2017. During that run Eichel potted five goals and 11 assists.
--Ristolainen has been playing very well lately and he extended his point-streak to three games with that assist. For years coaches have been saying that they'd like to cut down on Ristolainen's minutes and Sabres bench-boss Ralph Krueger finally began doing so. From 2015-16 up until the start of this season, "The Angry Finn" averaged 25:30 of ice-time/game which was sixth in the NHL during that span. Krueger began cutting into that this season with Ristolainen getting 23:54 ATOI (22nd in the NHL) up until a November 24 game in Florida where he, out of necessity, used 11 forwards and seven defenseman in a 5-2 win against the Panthers. Krueger hasn't deviated from that set-up since and with seven defensemen rotating in, Ristolainen's average time-on ice is 19:24/game which is less than Eichel (21:25) and Sam Reinhart (20:04) on the Sabres. In those six games the Sabres are 3-1-2 and Ristolainen's plus-5 rating is tied for third on the team behind Eichel (plus-9) and Jimmy Vesey (plus-7.)
Notes after Buffalo's 7-1 win last night:
--Jack Eichel remains in beast-mode as he extended his point-streak to 10 games just 2:46 into the game as he snuck one through while camping on Louis Domingue's doorstep. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen pinched in along the boards and sent a quick pass to Eichel who was left all alone in the crease. It was Eichel's ninth goal and 19th point during the streak which is just one shy of his career long from February 14-March 7, 2017. During that run Eichel potted five goals and 11 assists.
--Ristolainen has been playing very well lately and he extended his point-streak to three games with that assist. For years coaches have been saying that they'd like to cut down on Ristolainen's minutes and Sabres bench-boss Ralph Krueger finally began doing so. From 2015-16 up until the start of this season, "The Angry Finn" averaged 25:30 of ice-time/game which was sixth in the NHL during that span. Krueger began cutting into that this season with Ristolainen getting 23:54 ATOI (22nd in the NHL) up until a November 24 game in Florida where he, out of necessity, used 11 forwards and seven defenseman in a 5-2 win against the Panthers. Krueger hasn't deviated from that set-up since and with seven defensemen rotating in, Ristolainen's average time-on ice is 19:24/game which is less than Eichel (21:25) and Sam Reinhart (20:04) on the Sabres. In those six games the Sabres are 3-1-2 and Ristolainen's plus-5 rating is tied for third on the team behind Eichel (plus-9) and Jimmy Vesey (plus-7.)
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Buffalo Sabres 2019-20 Team Stats--November
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-1-2019
Lookout below!!!
That's the shout that accompanied the Buffalo Sabres tumble down the standings and when you look at their team stats, there's no question that they were worthy of their 3-8-3 record in the month of November and a drop from 3rd overall in the NHL standings to 20th.
Luckily there's plenty of time left in the season to correct some things and special teams need the most attention. The Sabres powerplay was one goal shy of being completely powerless through November as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored the lone goal on Buffalo's 37 opportunities. At one point very early in the season the Sabres couldn't be stopped and had the league's best powerplay but since then it took a dive to 17th as their conversion rate went from 29.8% at the end of October to 17.8% as of now. And their penalty kill, which wasn't anything to write home about to begin with, was pretty bad as well. Buffalo went from a 79.5% kill-rate, good for 20th in the league, to 74.7 which dropped them to 29th.
Lookout below!!!
That's the shout that accompanied the Buffalo Sabres tumble down the standings and when you look at their team stats, there's no question that they were worthy of their 3-8-3 record in the month of November and a drop from 3rd overall in the NHL standings to 20th.
Luckily there's plenty of time left in the season to correct some things and special teams need the most attention. The Sabres powerplay was one goal shy of being completely powerless through November as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored the lone goal on Buffalo's 37 opportunities. At one point very early in the season the Sabres couldn't be stopped and had the league's best powerplay but since then it took a dive to 17th as their conversion rate went from 29.8% at the end of October to 17.8% as of now. And their penalty kill, which wasn't anything to write home about to begin with, was pretty bad as well. Buffalo went from a 79.5% kill-rate, good for 20th in the league, to 74.7 which dropped them to 29th.
Monday, December 2, 2019
A gutsy point + Sabres 2019-20 Individual Stats Leaders--November
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-1-2019
I was "Bruhed!" last night by a Sabres beat writer I respect for suggesting that the first goal let in by Buffalo Sabres netminder Carter Hutton against the Toronto Maple Leafs was a softie. Perhaps it was a matter of frustration on my part with the Sabres 2-1 loss that was decided by a definite softie let in by Carter in overtime. Or perhaps the first goal was indeed a goal that should have been stopped. Regardless, whatever way you cut it, the outcome was an extremely disappointing one.
Toronto's William Nylander opened the scoring at the 5:30 mark of the second period when he drove from the red line to the front of the net and his shot was deflected by Hutton over his shoulder as the Buffalo goalie tried to poke-check the puck in the blue paint. The score would remain 1-0 until Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen took the same route on a pinch-in from the point and slid one far-side past Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen 6:58 into the third period.
I was "Bruhed!" last night by a Sabres beat writer I respect for suggesting that the first goal let in by Buffalo Sabres netminder Carter Hutton against the Toronto Maple Leafs was a softie. Perhaps it was a matter of frustration on my part with the Sabres 2-1 loss that was decided by a definite softie let in by Carter in overtime. Or perhaps the first goal was indeed a goal that should have been stopped. Regardless, whatever way you cut it, the outcome was an extremely disappointing one.
Toronto's William Nylander opened the scoring at the 5:30 mark of the second period when he drove from the red line to the front of the net and his shot was deflected by Hutton over his shoulder as the Buffalo goalie tried to poke-check the puck in the blue paint. The score would remain 1-0 until Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen took the same route on a pinch-in from the point and slid one far-side past Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen 6:58 into the third period.
It's time to ride Linus Ullmark, more. Plus...
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-30-2019
Prior to the Buffalo Sabres road trip in Florida, some of what we'd like to see out of this team to help them turn it around centered around little steps. The Sabres had just come off what might have been their best game of the season in Boston but lost to the Bruins 3-2. Both Buffalo goals were scored by defensemen that game and it continued a bad trend that has been haunting the Sabres all month as secondary scoring from forwards through nine November games had almost dried up. Only three Sabres forwards outside the top line had goals (Jeff Skinner, Johan Larsson and Curtis Lazar, all with one each) in that span.
That has slowly begun to change as Zemgus Girgensons (two goals vs. Florida,) Jimmy Vesey (goals in now three consecutive games beginning in Tampa,) and Casey Mittelstadt (first goal in 17 games last night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs) have joined the usual suspects of Jack Eichel, Skinner, Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart in scoring goals. After beating the Leafs last night, the Sabres are 2-1-1 in their last four games and have lit the lamp 15 times, all by the forwards and all at even strength.
Even though the powerplay has been all but non-existent with only one goal all month (by Rasmus Ristolainen vs. Boston) in 35 opportunities (3.5%,) it is a good sign that the Sabres have been able to tally at even strength these past four games.
Prior to the Buffalo Sabres road trip in Florida, some of what we'd like to see out of this team to help them turn it around centered around little steps. The Sabres had just come off what might have been their best game of the season in Boston but lost to the Bruins 3-2. Both Buffalo goals were scored by defensemen that game and it continued a bad trend that has been haunting the Sabres all month as secondary scoring from forwards through nine November games had almost dried up. Only three Sabres forwards outside the top line had goals (Jeff Skinner, Johan Larsson and Curtis Lazar, all with one each) in that span.
That has slowly begun to change as Zemgus Girgensons (two goals vs. Florida,) Jimmy Vesey (goals in now three consecutive games beginning in Tampa,) and Casey Mittelstadt (first goal in 17 games last night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs) have joined the usual suspects of Jack Eichel, Skinner, Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart in scoring goals. After beating the Leafs last night, the Sabres are 2-1-1 in their last four games and have lit the lamp 15 times, all by the forwards and all at even strength.
Even though the powerplay has been all but non-existent with only one goal all month (by Rasmus Ristolainen vs. Boston) in 35 opportunities (3.5%,) it is a good sign that the Sabres have been able to tally at even strength these past four games.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Toronto invading Western New York today
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-29-2018
The QEW rivalry between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs takes center stage in downtown Buffalo beginning at 4:00 ET this afternoon. As per usual with our neighbors to the north and their rabid Southern Ontario fanbase, one should expect a huge influx of Leafs fans decked out in blue and white invading KeyBank Center for the first of four games between the two clubs.
We all know the story when Toronto comes to town. Maple Leaf home games are so high-priced that the average fan finds it rather difficult to afford a game at Scotiabank Arena and those fans who are on the outside looking in are forced to find an alternative. Luckily for them Buffalo is a short, 1 hr. drive down the QEW and Sabres ticket holders are more than happy to sell their tickets, at a nice premium, to Leafs Fans. What inevitably happens is that half of KeyBank Center ends up being Leafs fans and dependent upon the score, the roars for Toronto sound like they're playing a home game.
It's unfortunate for the players on the ice as they would like more of a BillsMafia-type support for a home game, but one can't really blame the fans if they treat their season tickets, or mini-pack tickets, or even single-game tickets as a business proposition.
The QEW rivalry between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs takes center stage in downtown Buffalo beginning at 4:00 ET this afternoon. As per usual with our neighbors to the north and their rabid Southern Ontario fanbase, one should expect a huge influx of Leafs fans decked out in blue and white invading KeyBank Center for the first of four games between the two clubs.
We all know the story when Toronto comes to town. Maple Leaf home games are so high-priced that the average fan finds it rather difficult to afford a game at Scotiabank Arena and those fans who are on the outside looking in are forced to find an alternative. Luckily for them Buffalo is a short, 1 hr. drive down the QEW and Sabres ticket holders are more than happy to sell their tickets, at a nice premium, to Leafs Fans. What inevitably happens is that half of KeyBank Center ends up being Leafs fans and dependent upon the score, the roars for Toronto sound like they're playing a home game.
It's unfortunate for the players on the ice as they would like more of a BillsMafia-type support for a home game, but one can't really blame the fans if they treat their season tickets, or mini-pack tickets, or even single-game tickets as a business proposition.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Calgary in town, Johansson back, Krueger's blender, plus Dahlin/Sobotka
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-27-2019
The Calgary Flames have been struggling as much as the Buffalo Sabres this season. After taking the Western Conference crown last season with 107 points, Calgary is off to a rather pedestrian start to 2019-20 and finds themselves off the pace out west. They're 11-12-4 record is good for 26 points which places them in the middle of the pack just outside a playoff spot but they've played more games than anyone else in the conference and if you take a peek at their points-percentage, you'll find they're third-last.
Buffalo is very similar in the standings as they took a dive after a fast start. The Sabres are 11-10-3 on the season with their 25 points placing them 11th in the Eastern Conference and are only a little better than the Flames with a .521 point-percentage as opposed to Calgary's .481.
The Calgary Flames have been struggling as much as the Buffalo Sabres this season. After taking the Western Conference crown last season with 107 points, Calgary is off to a rather pedestrian start to 2019-20 and finds themselves off the pace out west. They're 11-12-4 record is good for 26 points which places them in the middle of the pack just outside a playoff spot but they've played more games than anyone else in the conference and if you take a peek at their points-percentage, you'll find they're third-last.
Buffalo is very similar in the standings as they took a dive after a fast start. The Sabres are 11-10-3 on the season with their 25 points placing them 11th in the Eastern Conference and are only a little better than the Flames with a .521 point-percentage as opposed to Calgary's .481.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Sabres getting the Rodney Dangerfield treatment, again, in game at TBL
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-26-2019
First off, anyone who thinks some celluloid hero-type tough guy is gonna descend from the clouds and save the "damsel in distress" that is the Buffalo Sabres right now is sadly mistaken. It ain't gonna happen. If this team wants to move forward, they'll need to do so as constructed (at least near-term) with the players whose temperament fits the ideals of management and ultimately, ownership.
As we started to see last season when the Sabres 10-game win streak was stopped by the Tampa Bay Lightning, there's a rivalry brewing between the two clubs. Sure, right now it's like an uptown highbrow versus some riff raff from the projects, but the fact that the Lightning need to resort to dirty tactics against Buffalo at least that they feel somewhat threatened by the Sabres. Then again Tampa Bay just might have some highfalutin contemptuousness directed towards a Buffalo team, organization and city that couldn't be more of a polar-opposite from them.
First off, anyone who thinks some celluloid hero-type tough guy is gonna descend from the clouds and save the "damsel in distress" that is the Buffalo Sabres right now is sadly mistaken. It ain't gonna happen. If this team wants to move forward, they'll need to do so as constructed (at least near-term) with the players whose temperament fits the ideals of management and ultimately, ownership.
As we started to see last season when the Sabres 10-game win streak was stopped by the Tampa Bay Lightning, there's a rivalry brewing between the two clubs. Sure, right now it's like an uptown highbrow versus some riff raff from the projects, but the fact that the Lightning need to resort to dirty tactics against Buffalo at least that they feel somewhat threatened by the Sabres. Then again Tampa Bay just might have some highfalutin contemptuousness directed towards a Buffalo team, organization and city that couldn't be more of a polar-opposite from them.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
That was...interesting. Krueger is mad scientist in win over FLA
Publised by hockeybuzz.com, 11-25-2019
The lineup to begin last night's game in Florida against the Panthers was somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser to begin with as it featured 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Yes, we've seen it before and other teams have used it before, including the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, as mentioned by Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger post-game, but still, that set-up is a little difficult to wrap your hands around. Especially when you're accustomed to Krueger religiously sticking to his lines and pairings this season.
Last night, however, the hockey coach became a mad scientist after forward Evan Rodrigues went down with an injury during his first shift on the ice. Krueger did some juggling on the blueline to start the game as he tried to work in seven defensemen while double-shifting able bodies up front. But after Rodrigues went down he let it all hang out and rolled with various concoctions up front that were full of surprises, including defenseman Brandon Montour taking a regular shift at left wing.
"The way we play," said Krueger to the media after their 5-2 win, "it's about finding your role in the group. Sometimes d-men will be up in the front, forwards will be back and vice-versa. I think it's an easy style of play that you can step into that."
The lineup to begin last night's game in Florida against the Panthers was somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser to begin with as it featured 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Yes, we've seen it before and other teams have used it before, including the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, as mentioned by Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger post-game, but still, that set-up is a little difficult to wrap your hands around. Especially when you're accustomed to Krueger religiously sticking to his lines and pairings this season.
Last night, however, the hockey coach became a mad scientist after forward Evan Rodrigues went down with an injury during his first shift on the ice. Krueger did some juggling on the blueline to start the game as he tried to work in seven defensemen while double-shifting able bodies up front. But after Rodrigues went down he let it all hang out and rolled with various concoctions up front that were full of surprises, including defenseman Brandon Montour taking a regular shift at left wing.
"The way we play," said Krueger to the media after their 5-2 win, "it's about finding your role in the group. Sometimes d-men will be up in the front, forwards will be back and vice-versa. I think it's an easy style of play that you can step into that."
Monday, November 25, 2019
There's been no fun in the Florida Sun for the Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-24-2019
Let's get this out of the way right now.
Since the 2013-14 season, the Buffalo Sabres have a combined 5-15-2 record against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning in a two-game, Florida road trip and they've been swept out of the state in seven of those 11 duals.
If that isn't enough of a downer for Sabres fans, heading into this evening's matchup at the Panthers, Buffalo is 1-7-2 in their last 10 games while Florida is 7-2-1.
Most of the focus in Sabreland for today's matchup with Florida centers around the defense and which NHL-caliber defensemen will be in the press box. The order of pairings as relayed by those at Buffalo's practice yesterday are:
Ristolainen - McCabe
Dahlin - Bogosian
Miller - Montour
Scandella - Jokiharju
Let's get this out of the way right now.
Since the 2013-14 season, the Buffalo Sabres have a combined 5-15-2 record against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning in a two-game, Florida road trip and they've been swept out of the state in seven of those 11 duals.
If that isn't enough of a downer for Sabres fans, heading into this evening's matchup at the Panthers, Buffalo is 1-7-2 in their last 10 games while Florida is 7-2-1.
Most of the focus in Sabreland for today's matchup with Florida centers around the defense and which NHL-caliber defensemen will be in the press box. The order of pairings as relayed by those at Buffalo's practice yesterday are:
Ristolainen - McCabe
Dahlin - Bogosian
Miller - Montour
Scandella - Jokiharju
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Sabres Notes
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-23-2019
There's not a Sabres writer out there who enjoys writing something akin to the following: The Buffalo Sabres played an excellent game against the Boston Bruins and did everything but win. Buffalo outshot Boston 38-27 at TD Garden on Thursday night including a first period where they pumped 14 shots on goal before the Bruins registered their first shot (to a Bronx cheer from the home crowd) 12:11 into the game. The Sabres boasted a very robust 62.22% CF percentage with no individual player below 50% and totaled 69 shots directed at Boston goalie Tukka Rask (38 on-goal, 17 blocked, 14 missed) compared to the 44 shots (27+11+6) sent Linus Ullmark's way.
There's not a Sabres writer out there who enjoys writing something akin to the following: The Buffalo Sabres played an excellent game against the Boston Bruins and did everything but win. Buffalo outshot Boston 38-27 at TD Garden on Thursday night including a first period where they pumped 14 shots on goal before the Bruins registered their first shot (to a Bronx cheer from the home crowd) 12:11 into the game. The Sabres boasted a very robust 62.22% CF percentage with no individual player below 50% and totaled 69 shots directed at Boston goalie Tukka Rask (38 on-goal, 17 blocked, 14 missed) compared to the 44 shots (27+11+6) sent Linus Ullmark's way.
This was a game they should have won and would have won except for...Rask. The Boston netminder, and the game's deserved first star, stole one for the Bruins and the Sabres were left with this from defenseman Brandon Montour, "We played a little better," he said to the gathered media post game, "but in the end, it's another loss.
"We have to start winning some hockey games."
True dat.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
How to beat the Buffalo Sabres. Plus...
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-21-2019
In practices and meetings heading up to a game against the Buffalo Sabres, it isn't to far-fetched to believe that coaches across the league will have the same talking points on how to play against them. First and foremost attention must be paid to the Jack Eichel and there needs to be a focus on Jeff Skinner.
With Eichel disrupt him in the neutral zone so he can't use his speed and do your best to inhibit his shot. If he's on he'll force the issue and he might not be contained. If he's not feeling it he'll try to set-up team mates, in which case do your best to disrupt his passes. If he's frustrated Eichel will try to do too much and dangle, which is much more easily defended. When it comes to Skinner get on him and try to keep him away from open ice. There should be concern at times for his linemates, as they could heat up and do some damage, but odds are if you shut down Skinner, the entire line is basically shut down.
Those are the two guys who at any given moment can get them rolling and like with most (if not all team,) when they get rolling, confidence builds and it runs through every player. However, if you can stifle them, and get them doubting themselves, it's a breeze.
In practices and meetings heading up to a game against the Buffalo Sabres, it isn't to far-fetched to believe that coaches across the league will have the same talking points on how to play against them. First and foremost attention must be paid to the Jack Eichel and there needs to be a focus on Jeff Skinner.
With Eichel disrupt him in the neutral zone so he can't use his speed and do your best to inhibit his shot. If he's on he'll force the issue and he might not be contained. If he's not feeling it he'll try to set-up team mates, in which case do your best to disrupt his passes. If he's frustrated Eichel will try to do too much and dangle, which is much more easily defended. When it comes to Skinner get on him and try to keep him away from open ice. There should be concern at times for his linemates, as they could heat up and do some damage, but odds are if you shut down Skinner, the entire line is basically shut down.
Those are the two guys who at any given moment can get them rolling and like with most (if not all team,) when they get rolling, confidence builds and it runs through every player. However, if you can stifle them, and get them doubting themselves, it's a breeze.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Injuries mounting up-front for Buffalo plus the five-game recap
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-19-2019
On the heels of another injury to yet another Sabres forward, Buffalo bench boss Ralph Krueger was pretty matter of fact yesterday while talking about what's happening up-front. "It was a really long stretch with the same forward lines, and there was some good synergy there," he said to the media at yesterday's practice. "The process seemed to be quite automatic, especially the way we want to be connected on the ice. Losing a forward a game now for five games in a row has been quite disruptive."
The latest casualty was winger Tage Thompson, who suffered what looked to be a shoulder injury in the 4-1 loss at the Chicago Blackhawks. Thompson joined Vladimir Sobotka, Marcus Johansson, Johan Larsson, and Kyle Okposo in the ranks of injured forwards and is expected to be out 3-5 weeks. Sobotka's looks to be out some 3-5 weeks more weeks recovering from his lower body injury and Okposo is out indefinitely with a concussion. Johansson and Larsson are listed as day-to-day, but won't play tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
On the heels of another injury to yet another Sabres forward, Buffalo bench boss Ralph Krueger was pretty matter of fact yesterday while talking about what's happening up-front. "It was a really long stretch with the same forward lines, and there was some good synergy there," he said to the media at yesterday's practice. "The process seemed to be quite automatic, especially the way we want to be connected on the ice. Losing a forward a game now for five games in a row has been quite disruptive."
The latest casualty was winger Tage Thompson, who suffered what looked to be a shoulder injury in the 4-1 loss at the Chicago Blackhawks. Thompson joined Vladimir Sobotka, Marcus Johansson, Johan Larsson, and Kyle Okposo in the ranks of injured forwards and is expected to be out 3-5 weeks. Sobotka's looks to be out some 3-5 weeks more weeks recovering from his lower body injury and Okposo is out indefinitely with a concussion. Johansson and Larsson are listed as day-to-day, but won't play tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Krueger Crisis? A 2-6-2 slide makes you wonder what's next for the Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-18-2019
Buffalo Sabres bench boss Ralph Krueger was a motivational speaker at one point in his professional life and even wrote a book: Teamlilfe - Über Niederlagen zum Erfolg. Teamlife is his motivational company and the English translation of the rest is Beyond Setbacks to Success, which is what a motivational book should be all about. In case you were wondering, the entire book is in German, a language Krueger is fluent in, and as of now there's no English translation.
Perhaps head coach Krueger needs to revisit "motivational" Krueger's book because his hockey team is facing more than a setback right now. In fact, he may even want to get an English translation of the book and hand it to his players as his Sabres are in the midst of a pretty good slump. After beginning the season 8-1-1 while looking motivated and on fire, the team is now mired in a 2-6-2 slide while looking tired and beaten only a quarter into the season.
The latest setback for Buffalo came last night in a place they rarely win, the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Sabres dropped a 4-1 decision to the Blackhawks and ran their record of futility in the Windy City to 0-7-3 in their last 10 games. Buffalo hasn't won in Chicago since January 7, 2007.
Buffalo Sabres bench boss Ralph Krueger was a motivational speaker at one point in his professional life and even wrote a book: Teamlilfe - Über Niederlagen zum Erfolg. Teamlife is his motivational company and the English translation of the rest is Beyond Setbacks to Success, which is what a motivational book should be all about. In case you were wondering, the entire book is in German, a language Krueger is fluent in, and as of now there's no English translation.
Perhaps head coach Krueger needs to revisit "motivational" Krueger's book because his hockey team is facing more than a setback right now. In fact, he may even want to get an English translation of the book and hand it to his players as his Sabres are in the midst of a pretty good slump. After beginning the season 8-1-1 while looking motivated and on fire, the team is now mired in a 2-6-2 slide while looking tired and beaten only a quarter into the season.
The latest setback for Buffalo came last night in a place they rarely win, the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Sabres dropped a 4-1 decision to the Blackhawks and ran their record of futility in the Windy City to 0-7-3 in their last 10 games. Buffalo hasn't won in Chicago since January 7, 2007.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Eichel-4 Sens-2. Plus, on the Rasmus Dahlin benching, Rasmus Asplund and more
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-17-2019
Jack Eichel has had some big games for the Sabres dating back to December 26, 2016 in Boston where as a rookie he led the charge (2 goals, 2 assists) in a come from behind 6-3 win against his hometown Bruins. the 23 yr. old Eichel has a had hat trick before and has had more four-point games before, which includes two already this year (both games 2+2.) However, he reached another level in last night's four-goal game in the Sabres 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. It's not just the fact that he scored four goals or that he outscored Ottawa himself, Eichel carried his team on his back when they needed it most.
The Sabres have been struggling since getting off to a torrid start to the season, came into the game on a six-game winless streak (0-4-2) and as a team couldn't beat Sens goalie Craig Anderson last night. It's a movie Buffalo hockey fans have seen over and over again for over a decade, one in which they played a team they could or should beat, but in the end were left to lament that they worked hard and had the chances but just couldn't finish and/or didn't have puck luck. For the Sabres other 17 skaters on the ice against last night, that part of the equation was true.
What those previous teams didn't have was a player like Eichel who has the skill-level to defy that scenario.
Jack Eichel has had some big games for the Sabres dating back to December 26, 2016 in Boston where as a rookie he led the charge (2 goals, 2 assists) in a come from behind 6-3 win against his hometown Bruins. the 23 yr. old Eichel has a had hat trick before and has had more four-point games before, which includes two already this year (both games 2+2.) However, he reached another level in last night's four-goal game in the Sabres 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. It's not just the fact that he scored four goals or that he outscored Ottawa himself, Eichel carried his team on his back when they needed it most.
The Sabres have been struggling since getting off to a torrid start to the season, came into the game on a six-game winless streak (0-4-2) and as a team couldn't beat Sens goalie Craig Anderson last night. It's a movie Buffalo hockey fans have seen over and over again for over a decade, one in which they played a team they could or should beat, but in the end were left to lament that they worked hard and had the chances but just couldn't finish and/or didn't have puck luck. For the Sabres other 17 skaters on the ice against last night, that part of the equation was true.
What those previous teams didn't have was a player like Eichel who has the skill-level to defy that scenario.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Now might be a good time for the Sabres to start winning
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-16-2019
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of tonight's matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, tonight is Hockey Fights Cancer Night around the NHL. To those who've been touched by this dreadful diseases, the millions whose stories are many and varied, prayers and best wishes to you.
The Sabres game tonight against the Senators has a definitive connection to Hockey Fights Cancer Night in the form of center Rasmus Asplund. The 2016 second round pick (33rd-overall) saw both of his grandparents succumb to cancer with his grandfather passing the day after he was selected by Buffalo. "He basically waited for me to get home from the draft and show the draft jersey and all that," said Asplund to the gathered media this morning. The 21 yr. old center was called up from Rochester yesterday and found out a bit later that he will play in his first NHL game tonight.
Asplund will take the place of an injured Johan Larsson centering Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo. He'll be the second new face up front joining Curtis Lazar who scored his first goal in his first game for Buffalo in the Sabres 5-4 overtime loss versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Larsson, it should be noted, scored the game-tying goal with just over a minute to play in the third period.
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of tonight's matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, tonight is Hockey Fights Cancer Night around the NHL. To those who've been touched by this dreadful diseases, the millions whose stories are many and varied, prayers and best wishes to you.
The Sabres game tonight against the Senators has a definitive connection to Hockey Fights Cancer Night in the form of center Rasmus Asplund. The 2016 second round pick (33rd-overall) saw both of his grandparents succumb to cancer with his grandfather passing the day after he was selected by Buffalo. "He basically waited for me to get home from the draft and show the draft jersey and all that," said Asplund to the gathered media this morning. The 21 yr. old center was called up from Rochester yesterday and found out a bit later that he will play in his first NHL game tonight.
Asplund will take the place of an injured Johan Larsson centering Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo. He'll be the second new face up front joining Curtis Lazar who scored his first goal in his first game for Buffalo in the Sabres 5-4 overtime loss versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Larsson, it should be noted, scored the game-tying goal with just over a minute to play in the third period.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Special. Teams. Matter.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-15-2019
Yes, we know. A vast majority of an NHL game is typically played 5-on-5. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. However, when the a powerplay is awarded, it's up to that team to capitalize on it and, conversely, it's imperative that the shorthanded team prevent a goal. Unfortunately for the Buffalo Sabres, they haven't been scoring on the powerplay and they haven't been getting the job done on the penalty kill.
"Specialty teams did decide the result again today," said Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger as his team dropped a second consecutive game to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 Global Series. "Definitely out powerplay let us down as did our PK this weekend."
Krueger's Sabres dropped Game-1 vs. Tampa 3-2 and lost 5-3 the next night. Buffalo went 0/2 with the man advantage in each of those games while the Tampa Bay went a combined 3/7 (1/4 in the first game, 2/3 in the second game) on their powerplay opportunities. Fast forward to last night's 5-4 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes and Krueger's words once again rang resoundingly true. The Sabres went 0/3 with the man advantage while the 'Canes scored on two of their three oppoprtunities.
With the loss last night the Sabres are now winless in their last six games (0-4-2) with every game save for the 6-1 loss to the Washington Capitals and the two-goal loss to Tampa being one-goal affairs. They lost in the shootout to the Arizona Coyotes and in overtime last night and were shut out by the Islanders 1-0.
Specialty teams are very much situational opportunities to grab or thwart momentum and for the Sabres Krueger has said time and again that the offense feeds off of their powerplay and having it go 1/14 (7.1%) in their last six games (0/10 in their last four) pretty much explains why Buffalo is 0-4-2 during that span scoring a total of 12 goals. The other part of the equation is Buffalo's penalty kill where in those six games, the opposition went allowed six goals on 14 powerplay opportunities, or a 57.1% kill-rate.
For a team that has had trouble scoring a struggling powerplay is problematic and for a team that is in a 0-4-2 slump, preventing as many goals as possible is most definitely in their best interest. Regardless what the analytics community might think or believe, special teams matter. Especially to this Buffalo Sabres team right.
And with that, I yield back my remaining time.
Yes, we know. A vast majority of an NHL game is typically played 5-on-5. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. However, when the a powerplay is awarded, it's up to that team to capitalize on it and, conversely, it's imperative that the shorthanded team prevent a goal. Unfortunately for the Buffalo Sabres, they haven't been scoring on the powerplay and they haven't been getting the job done on the penalty kill.
"Specialty teams did decide the result again today," said Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger as his team dropped a second consecutive game to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 Global Series. "Definitely out powerplay let us down as did our PK this weekend."
Krueger's Sabres dropped Game-1 vs. Tampa 3-2 and lost 5-3 the next night. Buffalo went 0/2 with the man advantage in each of those games while the Tampa Bay went a combined 3/7 (1/4 in the first game, 2/3 in the second game) on their powerplay opportunities. Fast forward to last night's 5-4 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes and Krueger's words once again rang resoundingly true. The Sabres went 0/3 with the man advantage while the 'Canes scored on two of their three oppoprtunities.
With the loss last night the Sabres are now winless in their last six games (0-4-2) with every game save for the 6-1 loss to the Washington Capitals and the two-goal loss to Tampa being one-goal affairs. They lost in the shootout to the Arizona Coyotes and in overtime last night and were shut out by the Islanders 1-0.
Specialty teams are very much situational opportunities to grab or thwart momentum and for the Sabres Krueger has said time and again that the offense feeds off of their powerplay and having it go 1/14 (7.1%) in their last six games (0/10 in their last four) pretty much explains why Buffalo is 0-4-2 during that span scoring a total of 12 goals. The other part of the equation is Buffalo's penalty kill where in those six games, the opposition went allowed six goals on 14 powerplay opportunities, or a 57.1% kill-rate.
For a team that has had trouble scoring a struggling powerplay is problematic and for a team that is in a 0-4-2 slump, preventing as many goals as possible is most definitely in their best interest. Regardless what the analytics community might think or believe, special teams matter. Especially to this Buffalo Sabres team right.
And with that, I yield back my remaining time.
Friday, November 15, 2019
"Twenty-one games to Christmas"
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-14-2019
That was Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger talking to the gathered media post practice yesterday concerning their upcoming schedule. His Sabres squad had just come back from participating in the 2019 Global Series which featured a somewhat compact schedule in October and early November, five days to travel and acclimate to Stockholm, Sweden for their back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning last weekend and another four days to reacclimate to North America. Sunday was a travel day with Monday and Tuesday being mandated days off. The Sabres resumed practice yesterday and will have a game tonight at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Krueger said that the team will have a pregame skate this morning because they haven't been on the ice and mentioned how he and his club will be approaching 21 games in 39 days leading up until the Christmas break. "The reality is we have the 21 games 'til Christmas and we're breaking it up into little groups. We've got five games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; four games."
That was Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger talking to the gathered media post practice yesterday concerning their upcoming schedule. His Sabres squad had just come back from participating in the 2019 Global Series which featured a somewhat compact schedule in October and early November, five days to travel and acclimate to Stockholm, Sweden for their back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning last weekend and another four days to reacclimate to North America. Sunday was a travel day with Monday and Tuesday being mandated days off. The Sabres resumed practice yesterday and will have a game tonight at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Krueger said that the team will have a pregame skate this morning because they haven't been on the ice and mentioned how he and his club will be approaching 21 games in 39 days leading up until the Christmas break. "The reality is we have the 21 games 'til Christmas and we're breaking it up into little groups. We've got five games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; six games, two-day pause; four games."
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Some mid-six juggling and the search for secondary scoring (again)
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-13-2019
You have to like the gumption Krueger has shown in sticking to his system of beliefs. With his Buffalo Sabres on a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) and mired in a 1-5-1 slump with litany of offensive woes plaguing his team, Krueger is standing firm to what he laid out in the beginning of the year and continues to defend his players work-ethic. Krueger was on the WGR550 radio this morning and once again he talked about how hard everyone has been working on the ice but not having the results there.
It's common theme Sabreland has heard dating back the Lindy Ruff years and unfortunately, on the whole, it's lead to full-season results that have kept them out of the playoffs or worse for a NHL-long eight seasons. Last season we heard head coach Phil Housley talking about playing a good team over there while coddling his players despite some despicable efforts and we found out, among a number of things, that he wasn't really cut out for the job and that his team was lacking in a few key areas.
Things have changed for the better with the Sabres as general manager Jason Botterill added key pieces to his blueline and added to his forward ranks. Early in the season it looked like it was a huge step in the right direction but with this recent streak there have been calls for Botterill to make a move if he wants his team to take a big step over last season. Perhaps there are things in the works, but the third-year GM runs a pretty tight ship with very few leaks coming out during his tenure.
You have to like the gumption Krueger has shown in sticking to his system of beliefs. With his Buffalo Sabres on a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) and mired in a 1-5-1 slump with litany of offensive woes plaguing his team, Krueger is standing firm to what he laid out in the beginning of the year and continues to defend his players work-ethic. Krueger was on the WGR550 radio this morning and once again he talked about how hard everyone has been working on the ice but not having the results there.
It's common theme Sabreland has heard dating back the Lindy Ruff years and unfortunately, on the whole, it's lead to full-season results that have kept them out of the playoffs or worse for a NHL-long eight seasons. Last season we heard head coach Phil Housley talking about playing a good team over there while coddling his players despite some despicable efforts and we found out, among a number of things, that he wasn't really cut out for the job and that his team was lacking in a few key areas.
Things have changed for the better with the Sabres as general manager Jason Botterill added key pieces to his blueline and added to his forward ranks. Early in the season it looked like it was a huge step in the right direction but with this recent streak there have been calls for Botterill to make a move if he wants his team to take a big step over last season. Perhaps there are things in the works, but the third-year GM runs a pretty tight ship with very few leaks coming out during his tenure.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Nikita Kucherov's dirty hit on Sobotka and what it might mean for the Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-9-2019
Tampa's Nikita Kucherov will never be misconstrued as a Cro-Magnon, Milan Lucic-type player who's main purpose on the ice is to use his animal instincts to intimidate the opposition. Kucherov couldn't be further from that as he's a brilliant offensive player for the Lightning and unlike the hulking Lucic, he's all of 5'11" 180 lbs. However, the dirty hit that took out Sabres forward Vladimir Sobotka tapped into that type of mindless intimidation.
Sobotka was low-bridged by Kucherov late in the first period of Buffalo's 3-2 loss in yesterday and unlike challenging a 6'3" 231 lb. Lucic, any number of Sabres players on the ice at the time could have come at the smaller Kucherov with little fear for their personal safety. But they didn't:
--Casey Mittelstadt had a front row seat for the hit, as did the official who did not call an interference penalty on the play (at least.) He's 6'1" 199 lbs.
--Defenseman Colin Miller was on the ice and had the same view. He clocks in at 6'1" 193 lbs.
--At 5'11" 195 lb. Jeff Skinner is about the same weight-class as Kucherov but had his back to the play. Skinner has shown enough gumption in the past as to not take something like that lightly, so one would assume that if he saw what happened he'd have been all-in
--Henri Jokiharju is 6'0" 195 lbs. He was on the ice too.
Size-wise, none of them had anything to fear but, they all went about their business as if nothing of note had happened, even with Sobotka laying on the ice in obvious discomfort clutching his leg.
Tampa's Nikita Kucherov will never be misconstrued as a Cro-Magnon, Milan Lucic-type player who's main purpose on the ice is to use his animal instincts to intimidate the opposition. Kucherov couldn't be further from that as he's a brilliant offensive player for the Lightning and unlike the hulking Lucic, he's all of 5'11" 180 lbs. However, the dirty hit that took out Sabres forward Vladimir Sobotka tapped into that type of mindless intimidation.
Sobotka was low-bridged by Kucherov late in the first period of Buffalo's 3-2 loss in yesterday and unlike challenging a 6'3" 231 lb. Lucic, any number of Sabres players on the ice at the time could have come at the smaller Kucherov with little fear for their personal safety. But they didn't:
--Casey Mittelstadt had a front row seat for the hit, as did the official who did not call an interference penalty on the play (at least.) He's 6'1" 199 lbs.
--Defenseman Colin Miller was on the ice and had the same view. He clocks in at 6'1" 193 lbs.
--At 5'11" 195 lb. Jeff Skinner is about the same weight-class as Kucherov but had his back to the play. Skinner has shown enough gumption in the past as to not take something like that lightly, so one would assume that if he saw what happened he'd have been all-in
--Henri Jokiharju is 6'0" 195 lbs. He was on the ice too.
Size-wise, none of them had anything to fear but, they all went about their business as if nothing of note had happened, even with Sobotka laying on the ice in obvious discomfort clutching his leg.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Game-day...finally: BUF/TBL at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Can anyone in Sabreland remember Buffalo's last game? Sure you can go to the scoreboard and see that the NY Islanders defeated the Sabres 1-0 and you might remember that the Islanders scored early before playing lockdown, 90's trap-hockey to secure the win.
Buffalo hasn't played a game since that Saturday night loss at KeyBank Center and that's OK. The National Hockey League tabbed them to play in their Global Series over in Stockholm, Sweden against the Tampa Bay Lightning which is an honor, especially for six Sabres players who made the trip and are returning to their homeland as a part of an NHL team. Hats off to Sweden-natives:
D, Rasmus Dahlin
F, Marcus Johansson
F, Victor Olofsson
F, Johan Larsson
G, Linus Ullmark
D, Lawrence Pilut
Friday, November 8, 2019
An eye on the Amerks with Don Stevens
A dozen games into their 2019-20 season, the Rochester Americans are doing well. They're tied for third in the division right now with a 7-3-1-1 record with those 16 points placing them tied for fourth in the conference. Rochester is also fifth in the AHL with a .667 points percentage.
But it hasn't been easy road to get there.
The Amerks started out the season with their head coach up in Buffalo serving as a Sabres assistant. Chris Taylor got the call to Buffalo after Sabres assistant coach Don Granato was hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia, which his brother Tony described as a "scary" situation. Don Granato was hospitalized for an extended length and Taylor was picked to take his spot behind the bench while his assistant, long-time hockey-man Gord Dineen, became the interim bench boss in Rochester.
According to long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens, whom I chatted with yesterday, things look as if they'll be returning to normal as Granato's "getting better" and they expect him back soon.
Checking in on the Sabres prospect pool with Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com, Part II
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-5-2019
This is the second of a two part series looking at the Sabres prospect pool with Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com. Part I can be found by clicking here.
As laid out in the previous blog, what Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has been able to do on the blueline for his team the last three years has been pretty impressive and that's without landing a franchise-type defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Botterill fortified and modernized his D-corps through some savvy trades while he and his scouting staff focused on the blueline at the draft using eight of their 18 picks on defensemen.
That's the good part of the prospect pool. The not so good part comes into play when we take a look at the forwards and goalie situation.
There's a two-fold reason for the not so good part when it comes to the forwards in the system. Botterill inherited a pool bereft of forward talent because a.) they were still recovering from the scorched-earth rebuild of his predecessor and b.) the Sabres top prospects were picked high in the draft and quickly made their way into the NHL lineup. Second-overall picks Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel were playing for the Sabres as teenagers, while 2017 eighth-overall pick, Casey Mittelstadt also started out his rookie season as a teenager. Which is fine as those top picks are expected to be on a fast-track to the NHL.
This is the second of a two part series looking at the Sabres prospect pool with Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com. Part I can be found by clicking here.
As laid out in the previous blog, what Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has been able to do on the blueline for his team the last three years has been pretty impressive and that's without landing a franchise-type defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Botterill fortified and modernized his D-corps through some savvy trades while he and his scouting staff focused on the blueline at the draft using eight of their 18 picks on defensemen.
That's the good part of the prospect pool. The not so good part comes into play when we take a look at the forwards and goalie situation.
There's a two-fold reason for the not so good part when it comes to the forwards in the system. Botterill inherited a pool bereft of forward talent because a.) they were still recovering from the scorched-earth rebuild of his predecessor and b.) the Sabres top prospects were picked high in the draft and quickly made their way into the NHL lineup. Second-overall picks Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel were playing for the Sabres as teenagers, while 2017 eighth-overall pick, Casey Mittelstadt also started out his rookie season as a teenager. Which is fine as those top picks are expected to be on a fast-track to the NHL.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Checking in on the prospect pool with Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com, Part I
This is the first of a two-part series looking at the Sabres prospect pool as of today with Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com.
After chatting about the Sabres prospect pool with Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com, one is left with the sense that the organization has come a long way in the last three years but that there is also still plenty of work to do.
Right now there's a symmetrical dividing line between the Tim Murray regime and that of present general manager Jason Botterill as each was in charge of three NHL Drafts. The difference between Murray's picks from 4-6 years ago and Botterill's from the last three years can't be fully compared as not enough time has elapsed for the players selected to reach their ultimate hockey potential, but what we do know is that Botterill took over as general manager with a thin prospect pool and that he pretty much had to rebuild a rebuild.
"It took some time to reset some things when Botterill came in," said Baker via a phone interview yesterday. "The previous regime didn't really draft and develop all that well. Murray's group had a couple of guys out of [those drafts] but you're not really gonna screw up when you're picking at the top of the draft with players like [Sam] Reinhart and [Jack] Eichel. They go through the prospect ranks fairly quickly. When that happens you don't have a lot of depth behind them."
Monday, November 4, 2019
Sabres five-game recap
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-3-2019
You don’t need a lot of analytics to figure out that the Sabres hot start has cooled to the point where it looks like they’re struggling. Something as simple as their record is a good place to start. Buffalo began the season going 4-0-1 then went 4-1-0 which included a three-game California road trip. However this last stretch of five games hasn't been too kind to the Sabres as they could only manage a 1-3-1 record.
Quality of competition might be a big factor as the first five teams they face had a combined 44% win percentage through their first five games, the second grouping was at 42.5% through their first 10 games while the last grouping of teams Buffalo has played clocks in at a 56.7 win-percentage, and that includes the top team in the NHL, the Washington Capitals and the second best team in the Metropolitan Division, the NY Islanders, who are a combined 20-5-3 on the season.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Buffalo Sabres 2019-20 Team Stats--October
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-1-2019
It should be an interesting night at the rink in Washington DC tonight when the Sabres face off against the Washington Capitals. Fans in the nation's capital are celebrating their first World Series Championship since 1924 as the Washington Nationals finished off a heavily favored Houston Astros team in seven games, winning all four on the road. The 2019 Nats championship comes on the heels of a 2018 Stanley Cup win by the Capitals, their first-ever Cup win.
Party vibes will be swirling all around the Sabres as they take on the Caps and hopefully Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has been showing his baseball counterparts just what celebrating is all about. Ovechkin and his team mates embarked on a legendary post-championship party that began in Las Vegas, where they defeated the Golden Knights in five games, with the party stretching from days into weeks. The captain was quoted as saying, "Get some beers, get some whatever and start celebrating."
That they did.
It should be an interesting night at the rink in Washington DC tonight when the Sabres face off against the Washington Capitals. Fans in the nation's capital are celebrating their first World Series Championship since 1924 as the Washington Nationals finished off a heavily favored Houston Astros team in seven games, winning all four on the road. The 2019 Nats championship comes on the heels of a 2018 Stanley Cup win by the Capitals, their first-ever Cup win.
Party vibes will be swirling all around the Sabres as they take on the Caps and hopefully Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has been showing his baseball counterparts just what celebrating is all about. Ovechkin and his team mates embarked on a legendary post-championship party that began in Las Vegas, where they defeated the Golden Knights in five games, with the party stretching from days into weeks. The captain was quoted as saying, "Get some beers, get some whatever and start celebrating."
That they did.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Buffalo Sabres 2019-20 Individual Stats Leaders--October
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-30-2019
With three days between games, the Sabres are getting some time in the gym and on the practice rink as they get ready to start a new month with a back-to-back this weekend. Buffalo just concluded a stretch where they opened the season playing 13 games in 26 nights, which included a California road trip of three games in four nights, and they came out pretty well with a 9-2-2 record.
New head coach Ralph Krueger has his team playing an on-your-toes, up-tempo, 200' game and because of their early-season success he's been able to keep his lines and pairings intact. That continuity has led to some nice chemistry, most notably up-front with Marcus Johansson centering Jeff Skinner and the d-pairing of Marco Scandella and Henri Jokiharju.
With three days between games, the Sabres are getting some time in the gym and on the practice rink as they get ready to start a new month with a back-to-back this weekend. Buffalo just concluded a stretch where they opened the season playing 13 games in 26 nights, which included a California road trip of three games in four nights, and they came out pretty well with a 9-2-2 record.
New head coach Ralph Krueger has his team playing an on-your-toes, up-tempo, 200' game and because of their early-season success he's been able to keep his lines and pairings intact. That continuity has led to some nice chemistry, most notably up-front with Marcus Johansson centering Jeff Skinner and the d-pairing of Marco Scandella and Henri Jokiharju.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Sabres and Bills both need to make a move
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-29-2019
Prior to Sunday the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills had a combined 14-3-1 record and both were in great spots moving forward--the Sabres were atop the NHL and the Bills were second in their division, squarely in a wild card spot. After this last night both were still in solid spots but a little shine taken off of their armor. The Sabres went 1-1-1 over a three-game stint from Thursday to Monday while the Bills ran into a road grader in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday who beat them 31-13 in Buffalo.
The Bills couldn't handle an Eagles team that was embarrassed the week before in Dallas. Philadelphia came to Buffalo with their backs against the wall in a fight for their playoff life and used an NFC East-style running game led by a big and mean offensive line to plow their way to 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns. After the game, Eagles running back Jordan Howard was quoted by the as saying, "We were able to wear their defense down. You could tell at the end of the game that they really didn't want to tackle us."
Having said that, you couldn't place the blame fully on the Bills defense as the offense sputtered. Once Buffalo fell behind they were throwing the ball more, getting nowhere in the process, and eventually the Eagles just ground them down as evidenced by a very lopsided 35:57 to 24:03 time of possession in favor of Philadelphia.
Prior to Sunday the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills had a combined 14-3-1 record and both were in great spots moving forward--the Sabres were atop the NHL and the Bills were second in their division, squarely in a wild card spot. After this last night both were still in solid spots but a little shine taken off of their armor. The Sabres went 1-1-1 over a three-game stint from Thursday to Monday while the Bills ran into a road grader in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday who beat them 31-13 in Buffalo.
The Bills couldn't handle an Eagles team that was embarrassed the week before in Dallas. Philadelphia came to Buffalo with their backs against the wall in a fight for their playoff life and used an NFC East-style running game led by a big and mean offensive line to plow their way to 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns. After the game, Eagles running back Jordan Howard was quoted by the as saying, "We were able to wear their defense down. You could tell at the end of the game that they really didn't want to tackle us."
Having said that, you couldn't place the blame fully on the Bills defense as the offense sputtered. Once Buffalo fell behind they were throwing the ball more, getting nowhere in the process, and eventually the Eagles just ground them down as evidenced by a very lopsided 35:57 to 24:03 time of possession in favor of Philadelphia.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Sabres looking for a 10-win October
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-28-2019
The longest winning streak in Buffalo Sabres franchise history came in the month October as that 2006-07 team won their first 10 games of the season. That record was matched last season as the team won 10 in a row in November. What followed those two streaks couldn't be more extreme. The '06/'07 Sabres went on to win the President's Trophy for most points in the NHL that year while the '18/19 Sabres missed the playoffs and finished 27th in the league.
With a win tonight Buffalo will become the first team to 10 wins this season and they would also tie that '06/'07 Sabres team for most points in October, albeit having played two more games. They're also off to a 5-0-0 start at home which is the first time a Buffalo team has done that since 1984-85 and a with win tonight they will tie a franchise record set in 1975-76 for best start at home.
The longest winning streak in Buffalo Sabres franchise history came in the month October as that 2006-07 team won their first 10 games of the season. That record was matched last season as the team won 10 in a row in November. What followed those two streaks couldn't be more extreme. The '06/'07 Sabres went on to win the President's Trophy for most points in the NHL that year while the '18/19 Sabres missed the playoffs and finished 27th in the league.
With a win tonight Buffalo will become the first team to 10 wins this season and they would also tie that '06/'07 Sabres team for most points in October, albeit having played two more games. They're also off to a 5-0-0 start at home which is the first time a Buffalo team has done that since 1984-85 and a with win tonight they will tie a franchise record set in 1975-76 for best start at home.
Monday, October 28, 2019
That winning feeling
Back in 2006/07 when the Buffalo Sabres were the surprise of the National Hockey League with a team that embodied "the new NHL," Buffalo captain Chris Drury said their goal was to not lose two games in a row. The team came out on fire winning their first 10 games of the season before dropping one in the shootout and would go 11-0-1 before their first regulation loss. That Sabres team wouldn't lose two games in a row until mid-December and went on to win the President's Trophy with a 53-22-7 record. They finished the season with consecutive losses a total of five times (thrice in January.)
Although it's still a very young 2019-20 season, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres has yet to suffer back-to-back losses. Of the 12 games they've played thus far, three of them have not gone well but they managed to follow those up with some solid performances. The Sabres lost in overtime at Columbus but followed it up with a 5-4 overtime win at home against the Montreal Canadiens, they got manhandled for the final 40 minutes in 5-2 a loss at Anaheim then shut out the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 the following night, and last night they shut out the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 after losing 5-2 the previous night at New York against the Rangers.
A quick qualifier: Montreal, Los Angeles and Detroit are a combined 11-18-2 thus far on the season.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Down goes Buffalo. Detroit up next tonight.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-25-2019
For as good as the Buffalo Sabres have been this season, their Achilles heel has been their performances on the road. They're most definitely getting it right at home as a the Sabres are sporting a rather robust 5-0-0 record (which includes two wins in overtime and one in the shootout) while outscoring their opponents 22-11, their play on the road has been suspect.
After getting shellacked by the NY Rangers last night 6-2 their road record is a pedestrian 3-2-1 and they've played their three worst games this season away from KeyBank Center. They were outplayed in Columbus but pulled out a point against the Blue Jackets, were manhandled by the Anaheim Ducks, and outplayed by an opportunistic Rangers team last night. They were outscored by a combined 15-7 in those three losses.
The most noticeable shortcoming in those three games is from Buffalo's top line as Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson have combined for one goal and zero assists at even strength with a minus-12 total rating. Teams are taking advantage of having the last change at home and are able to match up their best checking lines against the Sabres top line and so far Buffalo has had no answer.
For as good as the Buffalo Sabres have been this season, their Achilles heel has been their performances on the road. They're most definitely getting it right at home as a the Sabres are sporting a rather robust 5-0-0 record (which includes two wins in overtime and one in the shootout) while outscoring their opponents 22-11, their play on the road has been suspect.
After getting shellacked by the NY Rangers last night 6-2 their road record is a pedestrian 3-2-1 and they've played their three worst games this season away from KeyBank Center. They were outplayed in Columbus but pulled out a point against the Blue Jackets, were manhandled by the Anaheim Ducks, and outplayed by an opportunistic Rangers team last night. They were outscored by a combined 15-7 in those three losses.
The most noticeable shortcoming in those three games is from Buffalo's top line as Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson have combined for one goal and zero assists at even strength with a minus-12 total rating. Teams are taking advantage of having the last change at home and are able to match up their best checking lines against the Sabres top line and so far Buffalo has had no answer.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Buffalo beats San Jose 4-3 in OT plus your five-game Sabres recap
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-23-2019
We're not sure if you can ask for a much better start to the Sabres season. After their 4-3 overtime win last night, the Buffalo is now 8-1-1 and though it's not the 10-game winning streak from last year, early indications are that this is not the same team as last year's either. This edition of the Sabres looks like they have many of the pieces in place to make this more sustainable, not 120-point sustainable, but at least playoff contender-worthy right now.
With last night's win over the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo is still undefeated at home, although three of the five wins came in the extra session and in two of them they blew two-goal leads. Against San Jose they actually came back from a 2-0 deficit and played their game to a 3-2 lead before surrendering the game-tying goal past the half-way point of the third period. They never wavered in this one and finished the Sharks off in overtime.
We're not sure if you can ask for a much better start to the Sabres season. After their 4-3 overtime win last night, the Buffalo is now 8-1-1 and though it's not the 10-game winning streak from last year, early indications are that this is not the same team as last year's either. This edition of the Sabres looks like they have many of the pieces in place to make this more sustainable, not 120-point sustainable, but at least playoff contender-worthy right now.
With last night's win over the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo is still undefeated at home, although three of the five wins came in the extra session and in two of them they blew two-goal leads. Against San Jose they actually came back from a 2-0 deficit and played their game to a 3-2 lead before surrendering the game-tying goal past the half-way point of the third period. They never wavered in this one and finished the Sharks off in overtime.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
On Krueger's goalie rotation and line stability plus tonight vs. SJS
Normally when a goalie pitches a shutout he gets the next start and chances are the head coach will ride him until he cools off. Exceptions to that rule may include playing back-to-back nights or having the No. 1 goalie back in net no matter what the back up does but "riding the hot hand" is usually what a head coach does especially if a team is in a 1A/1B situation with their netminders.
The Buffalo Sabres do have a No. 1 goalie in Carter Hutton but he and Linus Ullmark seem to be more of a 1A/1B than a 65/17 starter/backup tandem. Neither had a great 2018-19 season, especially in the second half when the team collapsed, and coming into camp new head coach Ralph Krueger stressed competition. Hutton got the start in the season opener, which isn't all that unremarkable considering the respect he garners on and off the ice, and after a 29-save, 3-1 win in Pittsburgh he got the start in the home-opener as well. The Sabres won that game 7-2 before a home rollicking crowd celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the franchise.
Krueger gave Ullmark the next start in Columbus and the 26 yr. old managed to salvage a point for Buffalo with a 40-save performance in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets and the duo have been rotating ever since. Which is rather curious considering Hutton blanked the Dallas Stars before the team embarked on their just completed three-game California road trip.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Sabres have answers in San Jose, are now 7-1-1
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-20-2019
Who would have thought?
Coming into the 2019-20 season most pundits looked at the Buffalo Sabres lineup and it didn't look as if they'd made enough significant changes to even get close to their goal of ending an NHL-long, eight-year playoff drought. Some of the more rabid Sabres fans even called for the head of general manager Jason Botterill for not doing enough while hanging on to a list of what they considered hockey deplorables. Vladimir Sobotka was the king of the list with names like Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo and Marco Scandella deemed terrible. Many couldn't wait until defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen finally got traded for top-six help up-front even though in some fans eyes he rivaled Sobotka for the dubious distinction as most deplorable Sabre.
Although it's still way too early in the season to uncork the champagne in celebration of finally making it to the post-season, there are plenty of signs that this team will at least be able to make a run if they continue to play they way they have and their 7-1-1 start to the season most certainly helps. New head coach Ralph Krueger has each player believing in themselves and in their intrinsic value to the team. He's found four trios up front that he can roll and his pairings on the back-end have in the very least been solid but maybe more importantly, he's got this team playing as a five-man unit with support in every zone.
Who would have thought?
Coming into the 2019-20 season most pundits looked at the Buffalo Sabres lineup and it didn't look as if they'd made enough significant changes to even get close to their goal of ending an NHL-long, eight-year playoff drought. Some of the more rabid Sabres fans even called for the head of general manager Jason Botterill for not doing enough while hanging on to a list of what they considered hockey deplorables. Vladimir Sobotka was the king of the list with names like Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo and Marco Scandella deemed terrible. Many couldn't wait until defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen finally got traded for top-six help up-front even though in some fans eyes he rivaled Sobotka for the dubious distinction as most deplorable Sabre.
Although it's still way too early in the season to uncork the champagne in celebration of finally making it to the post-season, there are plenty of signs that this team will at least be able to make a run if they continue to play they way they have and their 7-1-1 start to the season most certainly helps. New head coach Ralph Krueger has each player believing in themselves and in their intrinsic value to the team. He's found four trios up front that he can roll and his pairings on the back-end have in the very least been solid but maybe more importantly, he's got this team playing as a five-man unit with support in every zone.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
A long distance home-and-home begins tonight with the Sabres in San Jose
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-19-2019
Amongst the interesting notes heading into tonight's Buffalo Sabres/San Jose matchup at the Shark tank in Norther California is that the Sharks will travel to Buffalo, NY for a game on Tuesday that will constitute a very long, 2,700 mile home-and-home series wit
h the Sabres. As Buffalo ends their three-game California road-trip tonight and travels back home, the Sharks begin a five-game, East Coast trip in the Queen City and though it's not a life-altering schedule notation, it is fairly interesting in that it doesn't seem as if it's typical NHL scheduling.
That said, all Sabre-eyes are on the Sharks tonight as Buffalo hits the Sharktank trying to make it two in a row after suffering their first regulation loss of the season at Anaheim. Buffalo followed up that 5-2 loss to the Ducks with a solid 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings the following night. The Ducks and Kings, as well as the Sharks, epitomize Western Conference style hockey in that they play a heavy game that makes it hard on the opposition. Anaheim threw the Sabres off of their game with physical play after being in down 2-0 late in the first period and they pushed that strategy to five unanswered goals in the victory.
The following night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Buffalo faced a similar situation as they went up 2-0 in the first period, but managed to get their third goal early in the second before the Kings got on their forecheck and laid the body on the Sabres. However, Buffalo withstood a furious second period where they were outshot 17-10 with Los Angeles missing on 12 shot attempts and a lopsided third where Los Angeles outshot Buffalo 19-7. The end result is all that matters as goalie Carter Hutton posted his second consecutive shutout after stopping 47 shots.
Amongst the interesting notes heading into tonight's Buffalo Sabres/San Jose matchup at the Shark tank in Norther California is that the Sharks will travel to Buffalo, NY for a game on Tuesday that will constitute a very long, 2,700 mile home-and-home series wit
h the Sabres. As Buffalo ends their three-game California road-trip tonight and travels back home, the Sharks begin a five-game, East Coast trip in the Queen City and though it's not a life-altering schedule notation, it is fairly interesting in that it doesn't seem as if it's typical NHL scheduling.
That said, all Sabre-eyes are on the Sharks tonight as Buffalo hits the Sharktank trying to make it two in a row after suffering their first regulation loss of the season at Anaheim. Buffalo followed up that 5-2 loss to the Ducks with a solid 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings the following night. The Ducks and Kings, as well as the Sharks, epitomize Western Conference style hockey in that they play a heavy game that makes it hard on the opposition. Anaheim threw the Sabres off of their game with physical play after being in down 2-0 late in the first period and they pushed that strategy to five unanswered goals in the victory.
The following night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Buffalo faced a similar situation as they went up 2-0 in the first period, but managed to get their third goal early in the second before the Kings got on their forecheck and laid the body on the Sabres. However, Buffalo withstood a furious second period where they were outshot 17-10 with Los Angeles missing on 12 shot attempts and a lopsided third where Los Angeles outshot Buffalo 19-7. The end result is all that matters as goalie Carter Hutton posted his second consecutive shutout after stopping 47 shots.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Proper response by the Sabres in 3-0 shutout of Kings
For the first 20 minutes of yesterday's 3-0 shutout win at Los Angeles, the Buffalo Sabres looked as if they'd shrugged off their loss the prior night. While in Anaheim on Wednesday, the Sabres got off to a great start but got thrown off of their game as a big and fast Ducks team got uber-physical and laid 200' pressure on Buffalo from late in the second period onward. The result was a 5-2 Sabres loss as their once potent powerplay went a meager 1/7 with the man advantage and their frustrations had them playing Anaheim's game instead of their own.
The Sabres goal heading into Staples Center against the Kings for the second game of a back-to-back, was to stick to their game regardless of what Los Angeles threw at them and for the first period, they did were able to play Sabres hockey. Buffalo scored two goals in the first 5:20 of the game and kept their foot on the gas as much as they could the rest of the period. In the second period they took advantage of an early powerplay by upping their lead to 3-0 before Los Angeles turned the tide.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Rehashing an "off night" in Anaheim with a look ahead to the Los Angeles Kings game
You know the old adage, the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts and the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres are no different.
Everyone knew the flaws this team had coming into the season but they'd been able to overcome those through the first six games of the season. The Sabres left Western New York on Monday riding a 5-0-1 record into California for a three game road-trip in The Golden State. They got to that point by playing a fast, 200' game with support in every zone buoyed by a deadly powerplay that kept teams at bay in style and/or on the scoreboard.
After downing the Pittsburgh Penguins and steamrolling the New Jersey Devils to start the season, the new look, positive-thinking Sabres hit Columbus and found themselves in a heavyweight bout with a desperate team. Buffalo overcame two deficits in that game against the Blue Jackets and rode the powerplay (2/4) to get it to overtime before losing 4-3. They followed that up with three consecutive wins--one in overtime, one in the shootout and a 4-0 blowout of the Dallas Stars before heading west.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Sabres begin a three-game California road trip tonight in Anaheim
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-16-2019
Buoyed by 5-0-1 start and a new lease on hockey life thanks to positive vibrations emanating from bench boss Ralph Krueger, the Buffalo Sabres are in California for a three-game swing through The Golden State beginning tonight. The first game on the docket has the surprising Sabres in Anaheim to take one the equally surprising Ducks at the Honda Center.
Anaheim is off to a strong start with a Pacific Division-leading 4-2-0 record born of a strong defense backed by firm goaltending. The Ducks have a league best 1.67 goals-against average (T-BOS) with the goaltending duo of John Gibson and former Sabre Ryan Miller sporting a rather staunch .944 save percentage (10 goals on 179 shots against.)
That strong goals-against average, however, is unfortunately countered by a fourth-worst 2.17 goals/game (tied with two other teams) which includes a powerplay that is anything but. Anaheim heads into tonight's game as one of three teams (NJD, OTT) without a powerplay goal. Going six games without makes it an issue with Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins telling the local media yesterday, "We'll try anything right now."
Buoyed by 5-0-1 start and a new lease on hockey life thanks to positive vibrations emanating from bench boss Ralph Krueger, the Buffalo Sabres are in California for a three-game swing through The Golden State beginning tonight. The first game on the docket has the surprising Sabres in Anaheim to take one the equally surprising Ducks at the Honda Center.
Anaheim is off to a strong start with a Pacific Division-leading 4-2-0 record born of a strong defense backed by firm goaltending. The Ducks have a league best 1.67 goals-against average (T-BOS) with the goaltending duo of John Gibson and former Sabre Ryan Miller sporting a rather staunch .944 save percentage (10 goals on 179 shots against.)
That strong goals-against average, however, is unfortunately countered by a fourth-worst 2.17 goals/game (tied with two other teams) which includes a powerplay that is anything but. Anaheim heads into tonight's game as one of three teams (NJD, OTT) without a powerplay goal. Going six games without makes it an issue with Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins telling the local media yesterday, "We'll try anything right now."
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Looking legit
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-15-2019
Are the Buffalo Sabres surprising? Maybe the most surprising team in the league this year?
You betcha.
Are they legit?
Um...It's looking that way.
At 5-0-1 the Sabres are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season. They defeated four of five Eastern Conference opponents, lost another one in overtime and after last night's win now find themselves atop the National Hockey League standings with 11 points. They've scored 25 goals (24+1 for the shootout) and have allowed 13 for a league-leading +12 goal differential. Sure, we can revert back to last season when they went on a franchise-tying 10-game winning streak in November only to fold and finish 27th in the league as a comparison, but...
more on that later.
Are the Buffalo Sabres surprising? Maybe the most surprising team in the league this year?
You betcha.
Are they legit?
Um...It's looking that way.
At 5-0-1 the Sabres are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season. They defeated four of five Eastern Conference opponents, lost another one in overtime and after last night's win now find themselves atop the National Hockey League standings with 11 points. They've scored 25 goals (24+1 for the shootout) and have allowed 13 for a league-leading +12 goal differential. Sure, we can revert back to last season when they went on a franchise-tying 10-game winning streak in November only to fold and finish 27th in the league as a comparison, but...
more on that later.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Dallas visits Buffalo for a matinee today, plus a five-game Sabres recap
The Buffalo Sabers have a 3 p.m. matinee game against the Dallas Stars at KeyBank Center today. It will be the final game of a three-game homestand before they head out west for three games in four nights against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. The Sabres just finished a stretch where they played five games in nine nights and are coming off of a full day away from the rink with head coach Ralph Krueger saying that his charges should look refreshed for the game against the Stars.
Krueger spoke to the gathered media after practice yesterday and said, "Today (at practice) you're trying to get the intensity and focus you need to play our hockey and they gave it to us in practice. But that freshness and the energy we'll have we expect to show up against Dallas."
Buffalo is off to a 4-0-1 start under their new head coach who's working a lineup that's very similar to what was iced last season. Three new faces were added up-front--Victor Olofsson, Marcus Johansson and Jimmy Vesey while the back-end has welcomed Colin Miller and Henri Jokiharju who were acquired in separate trades. The goaltending duo of Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark are once again patrolling the crease.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Ralph Krueger's handling of Rasmus Dahlin plus line notes
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-13-19
Sabres bench boss Ralph Krueger sat sophomore defenseman Rasmus Dahlin the final eight-plus minutes of their 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Friday night and his reasoning had a lot of truth packed into it. "We've gone 11 days in a row without a day off to start the season," Krueger told the media postgame. "There's been a lot of effort invested in getting the results we've had and we could see a few guys tapering off. We just thought we were protecting him in that little stretch. We knew Florida was going to push hard and we went with a little more experience there.
"Rasmus has played outstanding and is learning and growing every day," the coach continued, "and there's going to be moments like that were we're going to reduce the lineup to go with the guys we think we have the best chance of closing and he will definitely be in that mix eventually."
Sabres bench boss Ralph Krueger sat sophomore defenseman Rasmus Dahlin the final eight-plus minutes of their 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Friday night and his reasoning had a lot of truth packed into it. "We've gone 11 days in a row without a day off to start the season," Krueger told the media postgame. "There's been a lot of effort invested in getting the results we've had and we could see a few guys tapering off. We just thought we were protecting him in that little stretch. We knew Florida was going to push hard and we went with a little more experience there.
"Rasmus has played outstanding and is learning and growing every day," the coach continued, "and there's going to be moments like that were we're going to reduce the lineup to go with the guys we think we have the best chance of closing and he will definitely be in that mix eventually."
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Big challenge tonight for the fourth...err, Larsson...umm, checking line?
A line by any other name, in this case the Johan Larsson line otherwise known as the fourth line to some, still smells like a checking line. And it's a good one.
Although Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger says he refuses to count the lines, stating that every line has equal importance in his scheme, we all really know better. Jack Eichel leads the forwards in even-strength time on ice and his linemates Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson are second and third, respectively. The next three in order are Jeff Skinner, Marcus Johansson and Vladimir Sobotka, who represent a line.
Perhaps it gets a little hazy after that as the Larsson/Zemgus Girgensons/Kyle Okposo line rank seventh, eight and ninth on the team in EV ATOI which might earn them the title of Buffalo's third line. Yet Okposo had this quote when discussing the effectiveness of his line, "We're a pretty formidable line right now, he said. "You look across (as an opponent,) you see a fourth line (his line) and you say, 'What the hell am I doing in my D-zone?'"
Friday, October 11, 2019
Sabres putting the "power" back in their powerplay
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-19-2019
Never underestimate special teams, specifically the powerplay.
Sure, there's a vocal faction the truly believes that special teams really don't matter much because most of the play is at 5v5. There's a point to be made there and we can look specifically at the Buffalo Sabres who, in the 2016-17 season had the NHL's No. 1 powerplay (24.5%) but finished 26th in the league due in large part to the seventh-worst goal production in the league and a seventh-worst goal differential (-36.)
Analytics has it's place in the world but there are things that can't be charted, such as momentum. And, of course, there's a strong vocal minority that refuse to believe momentum exists in sports, but anyone who's played organized sports outside of intramurals would have a differing opinion. Heck, even in pickup games one can sense riding a hot hand and/or the tide turning at any given moment. That said, things like momentum can't be empirically charted therefore in this Aristotelian age of statistical importance, the unquantifiable doesn't matter.
Never underestimate special teams, specifically the powerplay.
Sure, there's a vocal faction the truly believes that special teams really don't matter much because most of the play is at 5v5. There's a point to be made there and we can look specifically at the Buffalo Sabres who, in the 2016-17 season had the NHL's No. 1 powerplay (24.5%) but finished 26th in the league due in large part to the seventh-worst goal production in the league and a seventh-worst goal differential (-36.)
Analytics has it's place in the world but there are things that can't be charted, such as momentum. And, of course, there's a strong vocal minority that refuse to believe momentum exists in sports, but anyone who's played organized sports outside of intramurals would have a differing opinion. Heck, even in pickup games one can sense riding a hot hand and/or the tide turning at any given moment. That said, things like momentum can't be empirically charted therefore in this Aristotelian age of statistical importance, the unquantifiable doesn't matter.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Can the Sabres make KeyBank Center a nightmare for other teams?
The goal is and always been to make KeyBank Center a tough place for the visitors to play. We've heard it year-in/year-out for, what seems like, ever and the results have been unimpressive lately. Beginning with the two years Dan Bylsma was head coach, Jack Eichel's first two as Buffalo's franchise center, the Sabres won only 16 home games the first year and posted a 36-34-12 record for 84 points out of a possible 164 total points. After Bylsma was fired, Phil Housley took over and the team won only 11 home games in the 2017-18 season while on their way to the No. 1 overall pick. In Housley's two-year tenure the Sabres record got worse at home overall at 32-40-10, but showed stronger tendencies last season with a 21-15-5 record, best in the prior four seasons.
This year under new head coach Ralph Krueger the Sabres began the home portion of their 50th anniversary season with an electrifying 7-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Fans leaving KeyBank Center that night, and fans across Sabreland, had the feeling that this could be a real special season, at least at home. The Sabres came back to reality a bit on Monday night as the Columbus Blue Jackets put the clamp-down on Buffalo and defeated them 4-3 in overtime.
Krueger insists the Sabres are in a "learning phase" right now so we should expect a lot of growing pains. "It's important sometimes to have tough nights," he told the media yesterday. "Those setbacks are really, really good, especially when you take a point out of them.
"That's the way we're managing it today."
The Sabres will have the opportunity to keep it rolling at home as they face the Montreal Canadiens tonight to kick off a three-game home stand. Montreal offers up a different set of problems to overcome for the Sabres and are backstopped by one of the best goalies in the game, Patrick Roy. Buffalo is 5-3-2 in their last 10 home games against Le Habitants.
^^^^^^^^^^
A lot has been made about forward Evan Rodrigues being in the lineup for the first time this season. Rodrigues was relegated to the pressbox by Krueger to start the season, a move which left him "shocked."
"That was obviously not a situation I thought I'd be in," he said
For as surprising as it was to him, and pretty much everyone else including this writer, Rodrigues handled it like a pro.
"Evan's been outstanding," said Krueger of Rodrigues' professionalism. "I mean he's the one that said to me, 'Somebody's going to be in this spot all season long.'
"He's been nothing but supportive to his teammates and to the process," said the coach.
Rodrigues is in the lineup because forward Conor Sheary is week to week with an upper body injury and it looks as Krueger opting to simply replace Sheary with Rodrigues and not mess with the other lines. Without a morning skate one would expect that Krueger will stick with his lines and pairings he used for the first three games:
Olofsson - Eichel - Reinhart
Skinner - Johansson - Sobotka
Vesey - Mittelstadt - Rodrigues
Girgensons - Larsson - Okposo
McCabe - Ristolainen
Dahlin - Miller
Scandella - Jokiharju
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