Enjoy:
Showing posts with label 2011 playoff chase schedule. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2011 playoff chase schedule. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
and they're heading towards the wire
half of a furlong to go...the habs are leading the way by a neck, the sabres and rangers are right there with the cane's a length behind them...the hard-charging maple leafs are still 2 1/2 lengths behind the leader as le' thrash and devils are now all but out of the race...
it's been a stellar 2011 for the sabres as they entered the year 12th in the eastern conference...they went 9-3-1 for the month including a 2-0-1 west coast trip...at the time they were eight points behind the canadians (7th in the conference) and were sitting behind both atlanta and carolina , teams who lost ground during the month...
february saw the team climb again thanx to continued sub-par play from the teams they were chasing...they went 6-4-1 for the month--nothing too remarkable--as the team went through an ownership change with terry pegula taking the reigns...buffalo's road record had greatly out-paced their home record at that point and concern really grew when the sabres lost the first three games (the last three games of the golisano-era) of their six game homestand...
two things happened after their third straight loss: pegula was officially named new owner of the buffalo sabres and nathan gerbe buried a puck at center-ice, with the full backing of his teammates, to rid them of the "home demons"...
they finished their homestand, and the month of february, by going 2-0-1...it was an exceptional month...not only did pegula and gerbe fit into the equation, but the sabres waived captain craig rivet and traded for forward brad boyes...not to be lost in all of this was the pegula-effect--a sense of family as witnessed by the return of the whole french connection line at his first game as owner...he also gave the organization an unequivocal sense of purpose: "the reason for the sabers existence is to win the stanley cup"...
the pegula mantra would be tested early in the month of march as the sabres embarked on a seven-game eastern road trip...they would start by facing two teams they were battling with in the playoff bubble--the rangers and the hurricanes (a win and an ot-loss, respectively)...they followed that with some bouts vs. eastern conference heavyweights--the flyers, pens and bruins--and finished the road-trip going a very respectable 4-2-1...
a blow to the sabres family came when french connection sniper, rick "rico" martin died hours before their first home game back from the trip...martin was the consummate player on and off the ice and was a fixture in buffalo for years...it was ironic that the man who was essentially the glue between the past glory and the present for many years would pass after the sabres finally became whole again french connection line-mate, and prodigal son, rene' robert, skating with martin and fellow line-mate, gilbert perreault at pegula's first game as owner...
after splitting the next two games at home winning the evening of rick martin's passing, the sabres found themselves in 8th place with seven games remaining in the month...with the playoff bubble muddled, the sabres ended the month strong by going 5-1-1including three shutouts (two by ryan miller and one by jhonas enroth) in their last five games...two of the shutouts came against two teams they were chasing--montreal and the rangers...
since terry pegula took over and nathan gerbe buried the puck at center ice, the sabres have gone 7-1-2 and improved their home record to 19-16-4, which shows just how awful they were at hsbc..
now as we head into the final week-and-a-half of the season the buffalo sabres, who at one point early in the year were dead last in the league, sit in seventh place, right behind the canadians with five games to go...
here's a look at where the sabres stood at the beginning of march when we looked at the 7th through 11th place teams in the eastern conference:
here are the remaining schedules broke down into division leader, playoff teams and non-playoff team:
montreal (4):
the sabres have a tough back-to-back...on the road...they face the capitals tonight in washington then travel to carolina to face the hurricanes...
carolina should not be looking past a very strong ny islanders team who have been one of the best teams since the all-star break (they just toppled the ny rangers two days ago)...the canes need to win tonight and need to win tomorrow vs. the sabres...one-point games, at this point will do very little, unless...
the ny rangers falter...and that's what they may be doing...they were shut out by the sabres 1-0 in a hard-fought, playoff-like game on march 30 then were toasted by the aforementioned ny islanders the following night, 6-2...
to complicate matters, henrik "king henrik" lundqvist took a shot just above the pad above his knee and has been hobbled...if that weren't enough, they have a back-to-back beginning tomorrow vs. the eastern conference leading flyers followed by division-leading boston, a team who they beat 1-0 three games ago...ouch...
it's conceivable that on tuesday morning there could be four teams within two points of each other for the 6th through 8th slots in the eastern conference...
w00t!!!
it's been a stellar 2011 for the sabres as they entered the year 12th in the eastern conference...they went 9-3-1 for the month including a 2-0-1 west coast trip...at the time they were eight points behind the canadians (7th in the conference) and were sitting behind both atlanta and carolina , teams who lost ground during the month...
february saw the team climb again thanx to continued sub-par play from the teams they were chasing...they went 6-4-1 for the month--nothing too remarkable--as the team went through an ownership change with terry pegula taking the reigns...buffalo's road record had greatly out-paced their home record at that point and concern really grew when the sabres lost the first three games (the last three games of the golisano-era) of their six game homestand...
two things happened after their third straight loss: pegula was officially named new owner of the buffalo sabres and nathan gerbe buried a puck at center-ice, with the full backing of his teammates, to rid them of the "home demons"...
they finished their homestand, and the month of february, by going 2-0-1...it was an exceptional month...not only did pegula and gerbe fit into the equation, but the sabres waived captain craig rivet and traded for forward brad boyes...not to be lost in all of this was the pegula-effect--a sense of family as witnessed by the return of the whole french connection line at his first game as owner...he also gave the organization an unequivocal sense of purpose: "the reason for the sabers existence is to win the stanley cup"...
the pegula mantra would be tested early in the month of march as the sabres embarked on a seven-game eastern road trip...they would start by facing two teams they were battling with in the playoff bubble--the rangers and the hurricanes (a win and an ot-loss, respectively)...they followed that with some bouts vs. eastern conference heavyweights--the flyers, pens and bruins--and finished the road-trip going a very respectable 4-2-1...
a blow to the sabres family came when french connection sniper, rick "rico" martin died hours before their first home game back from the trip...martin was the consummate player on and off the ice and was a fixture in buffalo for years...it was ironic that the man who was essentially the glue between the past glory and the present for many years would pass after the sabres finally became whole again french connection line-mate, and prodigal son, rene' robert, skating with martin and fellow line-mate, gilbert perreault at pegula's first game as owner...
after splitting the next two games at home winning the evening of rick martin's passing, the sabres found themselves in 8th place with seven games remaining in the month...with the playoff bubble muddled, the sabres ended the month strong by going 5-1-1including three shutouts (two by ryan miller and one by jhonas enroth) in their last five games...two of the shutouts came against two teams they were chasing--montreal and the rangers...
since terry pegula took over and nathan gerbe buried the puck at center ice, the sabres have gone 7-1-2 and improved their home record to 19-16-4, which shows just how awful they were at hsbc..
now as we head into the final week-and-a-half of the season the buffalo sabres, who at one point early in the year were dead last in the league, sit in seventh place, right behind the canadians with five games to go...
here's a look at where the sabres stood at the beginning of march when we looked at the 7th through 11th place teams in the eastern conference:
- ny rangers--70 pts
- carolina hurricane--67
- buffalo sabres--65
- toronto maple leafs--63
- atlanta thrashers--63
- montreal canadians--89 pts
- buffalo sabres--87
- ny rangers--87
- carolina hurricanes--84
here are the remaining schedules broke down into division leader, playoff teams and non-playoff team:
montreal (4):
- division leader--none
- playoff team (1)--chicago
- non-playoff (3)--nj devils, ottawa, toronto
- division leader (2)--washington, philly
- playoff team(1)--tampa
- non-playoff (2)--carolina, columbus
- division leader (2)--philly, boston
- playoff--none
- non-playoff (2)--atlanta, nj devils
- division leader (1)--detroit
- playoff team (2)--buffalo, tampa bay
- non-playoff (2)--ny islanders, atlanta
the sabres have a tough back-to-back...on the road...they face the capitals tonight in washington then travel to carolina to face the hurricanes...
carolina should not be looking past a very strong ny islanders team who have been one of the best teams since the all-star break (they just toppled the ny rangers two days ago)...the canes need to win tonight and need to win tomorrow vs. the sabres...one-point games, at this point will do very little, unless...
the ny rangers falter...and that's what they may be doing...they were shut out by the sabres 1-0 in a hard-fought, playoff-like game on march 30 then were toasted by the aforementioned ny islanders the following night, 6-2...
to complicate matters, henrik "king henrik" lundqvist took a shot just above the pad above his knee and has been hobbled...if that weren't enough, they have a back-to-back beginning tomorrow vs. the eastern conference leading flyers followed by division-leading boston, a team who they beat 1-0 three games ago...ouch...
it's conceivable that on tuesday morning there could be four teams within two points of each other for the 6th through 8th slots in the eastern conference...
w00t!!!
Friday, March 18, 2011
the eastern conference playoff bubble gets muddled
there's a cage-match brewing for the 7th and 8th spots in the eastern conference...the ny rangers and sabres are holding their own (barely,) the carolina hurricanes went 0-3-1 between two wins vs. the sabres (then proceeded to lose to the maple leafs,) and toronto is working themselves into the mix as well...atlanta, who started the year near the top of the conference, is still hanging around after their win last night...
and don't forget the torrid play of the new jersey devils, who've gone from possibly owning the top overall pick at this years draft to within six points of the top-eight with a 23-4-2 run...if it weren't for losing to ottawa twice in the last five games, they could be in 9th or 10th making the other bubble teams cringe even more...
as for the sabres?...they've just finished playing nine games in 15 days that started out with a seven game road trip...and you think the team had it rough, check out what newly acquired forward brad boyes has been through since leaving st. louis in late february...brutal...props, though...boyes has seven points in nine games with the sabres...
alas, the sabres are in 8th place right now and are finishing up a three-day break between games...
here's where the 7th through 11th place, eastern conference bubble teams stood at the beginning of the month:
atlanta is still hanging around even though they did a little selling at the trade deadline...craig ramsay has his team doing what's necessary to stay in the hunt...they're 4-3-1 for the month...toronto did some damage by going 4-4-1 while beating the sabres once and the canes once in the process...their loss last night vs. florida certainly didn't help matters, though...
and we're gonna keep an eye on the devils, although they're in 12th place right now with 70 points...nj shot up into the picture by going 6-2-0 in march and, before last night's 3-1 loss had a streak of 17 games without allowing more than two goals...although they may have faced their own waterloo in ottawa, their record since an 0-4 start to the calendar year cannot be dismissed...
here's the teams and their remaining schedules for the month broken down into games vs. division leaders, playoff teams and non-playoff teams as of right now:
ny rangers (7 games):
the rangers and canes have similar, middle-of-the-road schedules while atlanta has a balanced one, although they play the top two teams in the nhl in vancouver and philadelphia...
toronto has a brutal schedule...you can't dismiss them, but it'll be very difficult for them to remain in the hunt while playing division leaders boston twice and detroit once...
all-in-all, the sabres are pretty much just like every other team on the bubble--right around .500...in fact if you look at the eastern conference standings right now no team has better than a two game winning streak (pittsburgh and ny rangers) and only one team has a two game losing streak (ny islanders)...all the rest fall in between...
the mantra from january for the sabres continues: two points by any means necessary...
and don't forget the torrid play of the new jersey devils, who've gone from possibly owning the top overall pick at this years draft to within six points of the top-eight with a 23-4-2 run...if it weren't for losing to ottawa twice in the last five games, they could be in 9th or 10th making the other bubble teams cringe even more...
as for the sabres?...they've just finished playing nine games in 15 days that started out with a seven game road trip...and you think the team had it rough, check out what newly acquired forward brad boyes has been through since leaving st. louis in late february...brutal...props, though...boyes has seven points in nine games with the sabres...
alas, the sabres are in 8th place right now and are finishing up a three-day break between games...
here's where the 7th through 11th place, eastern conference bubble teams stood at the beginning of the month:
- ny rangers--70 pts
- carolina --67
- buffalo--65
- toronto--63
- atlanta--63
- ny rangers--78 pts
- buffalo--76
- carolina--74
- atlanta--72
- toronto--72
atlanta is still hanging around even though they did a little selling at the trade deadline...craig ramsay has his team doing what's necessary to stay in the hunt...they're 4-3-1 for the month...toronto did some damage by going 4-4-1 while beating the sabres once and the canes once in the process...their loss last night vs. florida certainly didn't help matters, though...
and we're gonna keep an eye on the devils, although they're in 12th place right now with 70 points...nj shot up into the picture by going 6-2-0 in march and, before last night's 3-1 loss had a streak of 17 games without allowing more than two goals...although they may have faced their own waterloo in ottawa, their record since an 0-4 start to the calendar year cannot be dismissed...
here's the teams and their remaining schedules for the month broken down into games vs. division leaders, playoff teams and non-playoff teams as of right now:
ny rangers (7 games):
- division leader (1)--boston
- playoff (3)--montreal, pittsburgh, buffalo
- non-playoff (3)--florida, ottawa, ny islanders
- division leader--none
- playoff (2)--montreal, ny rangers
- non-playoff (5)--atlanta, nashville, florida, nj, toronto
- division leader (1)--washington
- playoff (3)--tampa bay (2,) montreal
- non-playoff--(2)--ottawa, ny islanders
- division (2)--vancouver, philadelphia
- playoff (2)--buffalo, montreal
- non-playoff (2)--ny islanders, ottawa
- division leader (3)--boston (2,) detroit
- playoff (1)--buffalo
- non-playoff (2)--minnesota, colorado
- division leader (2)--washington, boston
- playoff (2)--pittsburgh, buffalo
- non-playoff (2)--colombus, ny islanders
the rangers and canes have similar, middle-of-the-road schedules while atlanta has a balanced one, although they play the top two teams in the nhl in vancouver and philadelphia...
toronto has a brutal schedule...you can't dismiss them, but it'll be very difficult for them to remain in the hunt while playing division leaders boston twice and detroit once...
all-in-all, the sabres are pretty much just like every other team on the bubble--right around .500...in fact if you look at the eastern conference standings right now no team has better than a two game winning streak (pittsburgh and ny rangers) and only one team has a two game losing streak (ny islanders)...all the rest fall in between...
the mantra from january for the sabres continues: two points by any means necessary...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
rounding the 3/4 pole and into the stretch they come
brad boyes was the lone sabres acquisition at the trade deadline, and as we round the pole into the home-stretch, many fans (based upon recent history) have to be wondering whether it will be enough for the team to make it to the post-season...
tonight is a critical game vs. the ny rangers...they trail the 7th-place rangers by five points with three games in hand...equally critical will be thursday's game vs. carolina...they trail the 8th-place 'canes by two points with two games in hand...
the sabres control their own near-term destiny with these two games and four points against teams directly above them in the standings would go a long way towards ultimately reaching the playoffs...
here's a look at the standings and schedules for the 7th thru 11th place teams in the eastern conference as of march 1, 2011...schedule is broken down into games vs. division leaders, playoff teams and non-playoff teams:
march schedules
ny rangers (14 games):
carolina (14):
toronto (15):
atlanta (14):
the sabres have a tough schedule this month playing the most games of any here...although not as tough as toronto who have six against division leaders and another three against playoff teams out of their 15 games...
the rangers have a relatively easy schedule--nine out of 15 vs. non-playoff teams--and will need it...marion gaborik, ruslan fedetenko, marc staal, chris drury and martin biron are all injured at the moment with drury and biron expected to miss the rest of the year...
atlanta plays eastern conference leader philadelphia three times and overall leader, vancouver, once and has three more games vs. playoff teams...
carolina follows a brutal schedule in february with a much easier schedule as they play eight of their 14 games vs. non-playoff teams...
the sabres mettle will be tested early in the month as they play five of their first seven road games vs. teams in the playoffs, one vs. a team (minnesota) tied for the eight spot and another vs. an upstart toronto team who's trying to make a run for the playoffs...
hopefully they'll be able to get at least seven of 14 points in the first seven games, ideally it would be best for them to snag at least nine or 10 out of 14, but the most important games are with the ones around them...the rangers and canes represent two four-point games for the teams...
we'll stick to the mantra from the last two months...two points by any means necessary...
tonight is a critical game vs. the ny rangers...they trail the 7th-place rangers by five points with three games in hand...equally critical will be thursday's game vs. carolina...they trail the 8th-place 'canes by two points with two games in hand...
the sabres control their own near-term destiny with these two games and four points against teams directly above them in the standings would go a long way towards ultimately reaching the playoffs...
here's a look at the standings and schedules for the 7th thru 11th place teams in the eastern conference as of march 1, 2011...schedule is broken down into games vs. division leaders, playoff teams and non-playoff teams:
- ny rangers--70 pts
- carolina hurricane--67
- buffalo sabres--65
- toronto maple leafs--63
- atlanta thrashers--63
march schedules
ny rangers (14 games):
- division leader (2)--philly, boston
- playoff (3)--san jose', montreal, pittsburgh
- non-playoff (9)--buffalo (2,) minnesota, ottawa (2,) anaheim, ny islanders (2,) florida
carolina (14):
- division leader (2)--tampa bay (2)
- playoff (4)--chicago, washington (2,) montreal
- non-playoff (8)--florida, buffalo (2,) atlanta, columbus, toronto, ny islanders, ottawa
- division leader (2)--philly, boston
- playoff (6)--ny rangers (2,) carolina (2,) pittsburgh, montreal
- non-playoff (8)--minnesota, toronto (2,) ottawa, atlanta, nashville, florida, new jersey
toronto (15):
- division leaders (6)--philly (2,) tampa bay, boston (2,) detroit
- playoff (3)--pittsburgh, chicago, carolina
- non-playoff (6)--ny islanders, buffalo (2,) florida, minnesota, colorado
atlanta (14):
- division leaders (4)--philly (3,) vancouver
- playoff (3)--montreal (2,) carolina
- non-playoff (7)--ottawa (2,) flordia, new jersey (2,) buffalo, ny islanders
the sabres have a tough schedule this month playing the most games of any here...although not as tough as toronto who have six against division leaders and another three against playoff teams out of their 15 games...
the rangers have a relatively easy schedule--nine out of 15 vs. non-playoff teams--and will need it...marion gaborik, ruslan fedetenko, marc staal, chris drury and martin biron are all injured at the moment with drury and biron expected to miss the rest of the year...
atlanta plays eastern conference leader philadelphia three times and overall leader, vancouver, once and has three more games vs. playoff teams...
carolina follows a brutal schedule in february with a much easier schedule as they play eight of their 14 games vs. non-playoff teams...
the sabres mettle will be tested early in the month as they play five of their first seven road games vs. teams in the playoffs, one vs. a team (minnesota) tied for the eight spot and another vs. an upstart toronto team who's trying to make a run for the playoffs...
hopefully they'll be able to get at least seven of 14 points in the first seven games, ideally it would be best for them to snag at least nine or 10 out of 14, but the most important games are with the ones around them...the rangers and canes represent two four-point games for the teams...
we'll stick to the mantra from the last two months...two points by any means necessary...
Monday, January 31, 2011
the chase is on for the playoffs
yeah...i mean, YEAAAAHHHH!!!!...thursday, a sabres press conference in regards to the upcoming sale...
welcome terry pegula and your passion for hockey--not to mention your deep wallet ; )...
but...there are still games to be played in the month of february...with boston in control of the northeast division right now, somewhat out of reach for the sabres, time to look towards a climb into the playoffs...
buffalo's in that "bubble-mix" right now, six points out of a playoff spot sitting in 10th place...
the 7th thru 11th place teams in the eastern conference:
here's a look at the upcoming schedules for all five of those teams broken down into opponents as division leaders, playoff teams and non-playoff teams (as of january 31):
montreal, 13 games:
taking a look at this, montreal could solidify their place in the standings with their schedule...atlanta has a rather weak schedule, but they play four crucial games vs. non-playoff teams around them in the standings...
carolina's got a real tough month...only four non-playoff teams out of 13...not only that, nj, who they play three times went into the all-star break on a tear going 6-1-1 in their last eight...
florida has a middle-of-the-road schedule, but will need to make up ground vicariously as they play only one game vs. teams they're trying to catch...
and, as for the sabres?...it behooves them match last month's record if they want to gain ground and possibly climb into the playoff mix...
two points by any means necessary, should be the rallying cry...
welcome terry pegula and your passion for hockey--not to mention your deep wallet ; )...but...there are still games to be played in the month of february...with boston in control of the northeast division right now, somewhat out of reach for the sabres, time to look towards a climb into the playoffs...
buffalo's in that "bubble-mix" right now, six points out of a playoff spot sitting in 10th place...
the 7th thru 11th place teams in the eastern conference:
- montreal--59 points
- atlanta--57
- carolina--56
- buffalo--51
- florida--49
here's a look at the upcoming schedules for all five of those teams broken down into opponents as division leaders, playoff teams and non-playoff teams (as of january 31):
montreal, 13 games:
- division leaders (2)--boston, vancouver
- playoff teams (2)--washington, nyr
- non-playoff teams (9)--florida, nj, toronto (2,) nyi, buffalo, edmonton, calgary, carolina
- division leaders--none
- playoff teams (2)--nyr, phoenix
- non-playoff teams (9)--nyi, calgary, carolina (2,) toronto (2,) edmonton, buffalo, florida
- division leaders (4)--boston, philadelphia (2,) tampa bay
- playoff teams (5)--atlanta (2,) nyr, pittsburgh, montreal
- non-playoff teams (4)--toronto, nj (3)
- division leaders (2)--tampa bay, detroit
- playoff teams (4)--pittsburgh, montreal, washington, atlanta
- non-playoff teams (6)--toronto (2,) florida, nyi, st. louis, ottawa
- division leaders (3)--philladelphia, detroit, tampa bay
- playoff teams (3)--montreal, san jose, atlanta
- non-playoff teams (7)--toronto, nj (2,) st louis, buffalo, nyi, ottawa
taking a look at this, montreal could solidify their place in the standings with their schedule...atlanta has a rather weak schedule, but they play four crucial games vs. non-playoff teams around them in the standings...
carolina's got a real tough month...only four non-playoff teams out of 13...not only that, nj, who they play three times went into the all-star break on a tear going 6-1-1 in their last eight...
florida has a middle-of-the-road schedule, but will need to make up ground vicariously as they play only one game vs. teams they're trying to catch...
and, as for the sabres?...it behooves them match last month's record if they want to gain ground and possibly climb into the playoff mix...
two points by any means necessary, should be the rallying cry...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)