Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-13-2017
When Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray meets with ownership next week he'll be packing a dossier loaded with information about the performance of head coach Dan Bylsma in the form of exit interviews with Sabres players. Mixed in with that will be Murray's personal views on Bylsma as a case will be made as to whether or not he feels the second year coach should be back for a third season.
Some of that was already revealed yesterday as Murray held a 30 minute end of season press conference and fielded questions on what he described as a "very disappointing season" for his team. He spread the blame around beginning with part of his opening statement which read, "I'm [at] the top of the food chain when it comes to hockey and I take full responsibility." He also stretched it to the players later during the question and answer session of the program when he asked rhetorically, "Where's the accountability on the players when we can't beat Colorado and Arizona (the two worst teams in the league) when we have a sniff of a playoff spot?"
A good chunk of the presser yesterday had to do with head coach Bylsma of whom Murray said, "he's my coach today," leaving him an out if his meeting with the Pegula's ends with a different view of Bylsma's future as coach.
Murray referred to injuries earlier in the season to key players like Jack Eichel, who missed 21 games as well as Evander Kane and Ryan O'Reilly, both of whom missed time during the first two months of the season. Eichel and O'Reilly finished 1-2, respectively, in points on the team this season while Kane lead the team in goals. Having them out of the lineup meant a significant shift in how Bylsma wanted to operate. Out went the hope of scoring and in came an extreme focus upon defense and goaltending--1.95 goals for/game (30th in the league) and 2.45 goals against/game (10th.)
With Eichel back in the lineup and Kane coming to life after returning a bit too soon from his four broken ribs, the Sabres ramped up their offense to finish with 2.43 g/gm, which was right where they were last season. However, it came at the expense of defense. When the team opened things up it turned on them as their shots against and goals against increased.
Therein lies the rub. There had been reports of a disconnect in the way the players felt they could play and how Bylsma wanted them to play once they got healthier. The tug of war lasted from December through February pre-bye week and the team managed to eek it's way ever so slightly up the standings but the bottom was about to drop out.
With the playoffs still in sight, the Sabres went 2-7-2 after their bye week and lost their interest as shown in the statistical drops across the board.
The only bright spot on the season was the powerplay which finished No. 1 in the league. It's the first time the Sabres had a powerplay in the top-five since they finished third in 2005-06 and it was only the second time they'd finished atop that category, the other being 1991-92, according to Sabres PR, who also pointed out the 25.4% conversion rate is third-best in franchise history and 13th best all time since 1987-88.
That said, when Murray heads into the office with the Pegula's he'll have some explaining to do as the team took a step backwards in nearly every aspect as shown below.
The numbers below added to the reported disconnect between Bylsma and his players plus some of the things Murray said yesterday like "it's about coaching individuals a little more and coaching systems a little less," makes it hard to believe Bylsma will make it through.
Until then, here are the final team stats for this season.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats (League Rankings)...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--February: 26 (T-23rd)...(WSH, 42)
--March: 32 (24th)...(WSH, 51)
--2016-17: 33 (25th)...(WSH, 55)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--February: 7th...(MTL)
--March: 7th...(MTL)
--2016-17: 8th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--February: 13th..(WSH)
--March: 14th...(WSH)
--2016-17: 15th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--February: 22nd/63...(WSH/91)
--March: 24th/76...(WSH/110)
--2016-17: 26th/78...(WSH/118)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--February: .500 (T-22nd)...(WSH, .734)
--March: .494 (24th)...(WSH, .714)
--2016-17: .476 (26th)...(WSH, .720)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54)
--February: -24 (23rd)...(WSH, +73)
--March: -28 (24th)...(WSH, +75)
--2016-17: -36 (24th)...(WSH, +81)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--February: 2.46 (24th)...(PIT, 3.46)
--March: 2.48 (24th)...(PIT, 3.36)
--2016-17: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.39)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--February: 29.7 (20th)...(BOS, 33.9)
--March: 30.4 (13th)...(PIT, 34.1)
--2016-17: 30.4 (15th)...(PIT, 33.5)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--February: 2.79 (18th)...(WSH, 2.08)
--March: 2.79 (19th)...(WSH, 2.22)
--2016-17: 2.82 (19th)...(WSH, 2.16)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--February: 34.1 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--March: 34.2 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--2016-17: 34.3 (30th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--February: 22.2 (4th)...(TOR, 23.0)
--March: 25.3 (1st)
--2016-17: 24.5 (1st)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--February: 75.8 (29th)...(CAR, 86.0)
--March: 77.3 (26th)...(FLA, 85.7)
--2016-17: 77.6 (25th)...(BOS, 85.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--February: 49.9 (14th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--March: 49.7 (16th)...(ANA, 54.6)
--2016-17: 49.6 (17th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Showing posts with label 2016-17 Team Stats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016-17 Team Stats. Show all posts
Friday, April 14, 2017
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Team Stats--March
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-1-2017
By the time the calendar turned to March, Buffalo's playoff hopes were dimming fast. A 7-5-1 month of January got the Sabres to the outer fringes of the wild card race and heading into their bye week late into February they were on a similar path having gone 6-4-1 which included a loss to Chicago the game before their bye.
With two consecutive road games against the worst two teams in the league coming out of the bye, there was a good possibility that the team could head into March with some momentum. However losses to Colorado and Arizona and an overtime loss to Nashville to end the month put the kibosh on that. That trio of games pretty much ended Buffalo's playoff aspirations and although the Sabres began the month of March with a win the nail in the coffin was the 1-5-1 record after that.
It's often said you are what your record says you are and at 32-33-12 and through 77 games the Sabres are exactly that, a 24th place team. Statistically there are some highs, like the having leagues No. 1 powerplay and some lows as shown in their league-worst 34.2 shots-against/game but by and large they're statistically in that 18-24 range which makes them a below average team.
Sure the Sabres have struggled with injuries, but they've also had numerous opportunities to climb over teams ahead of them through the course of the season only to fail, sometimes miserably. Losing to both Colorado and Arizona in late February with the playoffs in sight is inexcusable and to follow that up with five losses in eight games to begin the month of March when there was a glimmer of hope showed little gumption on their part.
As we begin looking to next season in earnest, rays of light are shining through the darkness. Buffalo's powerplay is downright dangerous and has been that way in the 2017 calendar year. The Sabres went 15-for-36 (41.7%) on the power play in 14 games in March, including 7-for-10 mark in the last five games, according to Sabres PR. They also point out that Buffalo has not finished a season ranked in the top five in power-play percentage since the 2005-06 season (third, 21.2%) and the team has led the league only once (1991-92, 22.5%.)
Also on the upswing is the penalty kill. After bottoming out at 30th in the league through December, the Sabres have slowly creeped up in that category to 26th. They've also been getting more rubber to the net as their shots/game increased to 30.4 (13th in the league.)
Buffalo's next game is tomorrow as they'll start a five game in eight-day stretch with a matinee at home against a NY Islanders, a team that's trying desperately to stay in the playoff hunt. On Monday Buffalo takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center. The Leafs are in control of their playoff destination as they're third in the Atlantic Division, three points ahead of the Boston Bruins and four points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lighting who are just outside of the second wild card slot.
On Wednesday the Sabres finish up the home portion of the season with a visit from the Montreal Canadians before they head to Florida for a back-to-back season finale on the road. They'll play the Florida Panthers on Saturday before concluding the 2016-17 season with a stop at Amalie Arena in Tampa for a game against the Lightning with possible playoff implications.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--February: 26 (T-23rd)...(WSH, 42)
--March: 32 (24th)...(WSH, 51)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--February: 7th...(MTL)
--March: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--February: 13th..(WSH)
--March: 14th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--February: 22nd/63...(WSH/91)
--March: 24th/76...(WSH/110)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--February: .500 (T-22nd)...(WSH, .734)
--March: .494 (24th)...(WSH, .714)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54)
--February: -24 (23rd)...(WSH, +73)
--March: -28 (24th)...(WSH, +75)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--February: 2.46 (24th)...(PIT, 3.46)
--March: 2.48 (24th)...(PIT, 3.36)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--February: 29.7 (20th)...(BOS, 33.9)
--March: 30.4 (13th)...(PIT, 34.1)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--February: 2.79 (18th)...(WSH, 2.08)
--March: 2.79 (19th)...(WSH, 2.22)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--February: 34.1 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--March: 34.2 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--February: 22.2 (4th)...(TOR, 23.0)
--March: 25.3 (1st)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--February: 75.8 (29th)...(CAR, 86.0)
--March: 77.3 (26th)...(FLA, 85.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--February: 49.9 (14th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--March: 49.7 (16th)...(ANA, 54.6)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
By the time the calendar turned to March, Buffalo's playoff hopes were dimming fast. A 7-5-1 month of January got the Sabres to the outer fringes of the wild card race and heading into their bye week late into February they were on a similar path having gone 6-4-1 which included a loss to Chicago the game before their bye.
With two consecutive road games against the worst two teams in the league coming out of the bye, there was a good possibility that the team could head into March with some momentum. However losses to Colorado and Arizona and an overtime loss to Nashville to end the month put the kibosh on that. That trio of games pretty much ended Buffalo's playoff aspirations and although the Sabres began the month of March with a win the nail in the coffin was the 1-5-1 record after that.
It's often said you are what your record says you are and at 32-33-12 and through 77 games the Sabres are exactly that, a 24th place team. Statistically there are some highs, like the having leagues No. 1 powerplay and some lows as shown in their league-worst 34.2 shots-against/game but by and large they're statistically in that 18-24 range which makes them a below average team.
Sure the Sabres have struggled with injuries, but they've also had numerous opportunities to climb over teams ahead of them through the course of the season only to fail, sometimes miserably. Losing to both Colorado and Arizona in late February with the playoffs in sight is inexcusable and to follow that up with five losses in eight games to begin the month of March when there was a glimmer of hope showed little gumption on their part.
As we begin looking to next season in earnest, rays of light are shining through the darkness. Buffalo's powerplay is downright dangerous and has been that way in the 2017 calendar year. The Sabres went 15-for-36 (41.7%) on the power play in 14 games in March, including 7-for-10 mark in the last five games, according to Sabres PR. They also point out that Buffalo has not finished a season ranked in the top five in power-play percentage since the 2005-06 season (third, 21.2%) and the team has led the league only once (1991-92, 22.5%.)
Also on the upswing is the penalty kill. After bottoming out at 30th in the league through December, the Sabres have slowly creeped up in that category to 26th. They've also been getting more rubber to the net as their shots/game increased to 30.4 (13th in the league.)
Buffalo's next game is tomorrow as they'll start a five game in eight-day stretch with a matinee at home against a NY Islanders, a team that's trying desperately to stay in the playoff hunt. On Monday Buffalo takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center. The Leafs are in control of their playoff destination as they're third in the Atlantic Division, three points ahead of the Boston Bruins and four points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lighting who are just outside of the second wild card slot.
On Wednesday the Sabres finish up the home portion of the season with a visit from the Montreal Canadians before they head to Florida for a back-to-back season finale on the road. They'll play the Florida Panthers on Saturday before concluding the 2016-17 season with a stop at Amalie Arena in Tampa for a game against the Lightning with possible playoff implications.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--February: 26 (T-23rd)...(WSH, 42)
--March: 32 (24th)...(WSH, 51)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--February: 7th...(MTL)
--March: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--February: 13th..(WSH)
--March: 14th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--February: 22nd/63...(WSH/91)
--March: 24th/76...(WSH/110)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--February: .500 (T-22nd)...(WSH, .734)
--March: .494 (24th)...(WSH, .714)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54)
--February: -24 (23rd)...(WSH, +73)
--March: -28 (24th)...(WSH, +75)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--February: 2.46 (24th)...(PIT, 3.46)
--March: 2.48 (24th)...(PIT, 3.36)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--February: 29.7 (20th)...(BOS, 33.9)
--March: 30.4 (13th)...(PIT, 34.1)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--February: 2.79 (18th)...(WSH, 2.08)
--March: 2.79 (19th)...(WSH, 2.22)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--February: 34.1 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--March: 34.2 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--February: 22.2 (4th)...(TOR, 23.0)
--March: 25.3 (1st)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--February: 75.8 (29th)...(CAR, 86.0)
--March: 77.3 (26th)...(FLA, 85.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--February: 49.9 (14th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--March: 49.7 (16th)...(ANA, 54.6)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Team Stats--Feb.--TDL Edition
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-1-2017
Stuck in the mud.
That's about the only way to describe the month of February for the Buffalo Sabres as they finished with a 6-6-2 record and are pretty much in the same spot they've been all season long.
First off, the NHL schedule-makers may still be ticked at the Sabres for their unabashed dive to the bottom only two years ago as they decided to give Buffalo their bye week in the shortest month of the year. In the end the Sabres will have played 14 games in only 23 days because of their five day bye. It meant four sets of back-to-backs all totaled including three within the a span of 18 days before the bye where Buffalo played a total of 11 games in that segment. A 6-4-1 record during that span kept their playoff hopes alive.
However, the bye week is not the reason they are now on a four game pointless streak (0-3-1) to finish the month. The Sabres, for a number of reasons, couldn't get the job done while either playing from behind, or for the last two games, playing with the lead. They held two-goal leads in both Arizona and at home last night vs. the Nashville Predators and choked them away. It's a trend that's happened quite a few times this season, especially with the pressure turned up.
Head coach Dan Bylsma has done some good coaching this season, especially considering the number of key injuries he's had to deal with as well as a sub-par defense-corps to work with, but something's amiss.
We've had the battles over systems and players and the deviation between systems is very little from team to team. Ask Buffalo captain Brian Gionta. Players are players and there's good ones and bad ones and all points in between. However, we've seen a number of in-season coaching changes that have brought back stellar results with a new bench boss coaching the same players.
Bylsma's Sabres have never been able to get out of the rut that was created early in the season with the loss of Jack Eichel to injury. And every time it looks as if they're gonna make it out, they slip back. Case in point, prior to the break they were making headway in the race for a playoff spot. They won three in a row but followed that up with their present four-game winless streak.
Should Bylsma's head be on the chopping block?
That's tough to say, not being in the room, but in looking over the season so far, he's not been able to guide them out of the rut their in and on many occasions, when a pressure situation arises, his team folds.
That's not a good sign.
*****
It's the NHL Trade Deadline day and with the Sabres on an 0-3-1 streak, and their playoff hopes faint at this point, one could safely assume that GM Tim Murray will be a seller. Names to watch are pending UFA's Dmitry Kulikov and Cody Franson, both defensemen and backup goalie Anders Nilsson. Gionta will also be unrestricted at season's end but has stated more than once that he wishes to remain in Buffalo.
Other names to watch are forwards Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--February: 26 (T-23rd)...(WSH, 42)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--February: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--February: 13th..(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--February: 22nd/63...(WSH/91)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--February: .500 (T-22nd)...(WSH, .734)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54)
--February: -24 (23rd)...(WSH, +73)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--February: 2.46 (24th)...(PIT, 3.46)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--February: 29.7 (20th)...(BOS, 33.9)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--February: 2.79 (18th)...(WSH, 2.08)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--February: 34.1 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--February: 22.2 (4th)...(TOR, 23.0)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--February: 75.8 (29th)...(CAR, 86.0)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--February: 49.9 (14th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Stuck in the mud.
That's about the only way to describe the month of February for the Buffalo Sabres as they finished with a 6-6-2 record and are pretty much in the same spot they've been all season long.
First off, the NHL schedule-makers may still be ticked at the Sabres for their unabashed dive to the bottom only two years ago as they decided to give Buffalo their bye week in the shortest month of the year. In the end the Sabres will have played 14 games in only 23 days because of their five day bye. It meant four sets of back-to-backs all totaled including three within the a span of 18 days before the bye where Buffalo played a total of 11 games in that segment. A 6-4-1 record during that span kept their playoff hopes alive.
However, the bye week is not the reason they are now on a four game pointless streak (0-3-1) to finish the month. The Sabres, for a number of reasons, couldn't get the job done while either playing from behind, or for the last two games, playing with the lead. They held two-goal leads in both Arizona and at home last night vs. the Nashville Predators and choked them away. It's a trend that's happened quite a few times this season, especially with the pressure turned up.
Head coach Dan Bylsma has done some good coaching this season, especially considering the number of key injuries he's had to deal with as well as a sub-par defense-corps to work with, but something's amiss.
We've had the battles over systems and players and the deviation between systems is very little from team to team. Ask Buffalo captain Brian Gionta. Players are players and there's good ones and bad ones and all points in between. However, we've seen a number of in-season coaching changes that have brought back stellar results with a new bench boss coaching the same players.
Bylsma's Sabres have never been able to get out of the rut that was created early in the season with the loss of Jack Eichel to injury. And every time it looks as if they're gonna make it out, they slip back. Case in point, prior to the break they were making headway in the race for a playoff spot. They won three in a row but followed that up with their present four-game winless streak.
Should Bylsma's head be on the chopping block?
That's tough to say, not being in the room, but in looking over the season so far, he's not been able to guide them out of the rut their in and on many occasions, when a pressure situation arises, his team folds.
That's not a good sign.
*****
It's the NHL Trade Deadline day and with the Sabres on an 0-3-1 streak, and their playoff hopes faint at this point, one could safely assume that GM Tim Murray will be a seller. Names to watch are pending UFA's Dmitry Kulikov and Cody Franson, both defensemen and backup goalie Anders Nilsson. Gionta will also be unrestricted at season's end but has stated more than once that he wishes to remain in Buffalo.
Other names to watch are forwards Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--February: 26 (T-23rd)...(WSH, 42)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--February: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--February: 13th..(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--February: 22nd/63...(WSH/91)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--February: .500 (T-22nd)...(WSH, .734)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54)
--February: -24 (23rd)...(WSH, +73)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--February: 2.46 (24th)...(PIT, 3.46)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--February: 29.7 (20th)...(BOS, 33.9)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--February: 2.79 (18th)...(WSH, 2.08)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--February: 34.1 (30th)...(LAK, 26.0)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--February: 22.2 (4th)...(TOR, 23.0)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--February: 75.8 (29th)...(CAR, 86.0)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--February: 49.9 (14th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Team Stats--January
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-1-2017
It's gotten to the point in the season where stats are beginning to level off and are beginning to reveal just what teams are made of. That's not to say a long streak one way or another won't change things, as invariably one team or another goes hot or cold, but generally speaking teams that are at the top will stay there and the teams at the bottom are entrenched where they are there while parity gives us a huge block of teams in limbo.
With one month of hockey to go until the NHL Trade Deadline and there and only five points separates 13 teams between the 16th place Los Angeles Kings and 28th place Detroit Red Wings and the Buffalo Sabres are right there at the bottom of that clump in 27th.
Buffalo just finished the month of January with a 7-5-1 record, their best month this season, and it was looking even better until they dropped both games surrounding the All-Star break. Prior to the break they'd been living on the edge by winning three comeback wins in a row in overtime but they fell to Dallas before the break and last night they came back to a 5-2 thumping compliments of the Montreal Canadiens.
It was a good month for offense as the Sabres scored more, which is a good thing. During the month of January they averaged 3.23 goals/game which moved the needle considerably (for this point in the season) as they went from an average of 2.14 g/gm to 2.43. They scored four or more goals five times, going 5-0-0 in the process, and never scored under two goals in a game. The problem, as revealed in their goal differential, is that they gave up more goals-against.
Despite their increased offensive production the Sabres shaved off only two points in the differential department going from a -23 to a -21 and neither number is acceptable. Defensive breakdowns and goaltending gaffes lead to a marked increase in shots-against and a rise in their team goals-against average. The Sabres gave up four or more goals six times in the month finishing 1-4-1 in those games.
Last year at this time the Sabres were at 2.26 g/gm, allowed 2.62 ga/gm, had a goal differential of -22 and entered the month of February with a 20-26-4 record good for 46 points. They finished the season with 81 points on a 35-36-11 record averaging 2.43 g/gm (25th) while giving up an average of 2.62 (15th.) They're scoring at the same rate now that they finished with last year while giving up significantly more goals against this season.
Regardless of whether your inclined to believe in injuries as an excuse, in the very least they've had a significant impact on the Sabres. The correlation between Jack Eichel's return and the overall heling of the forward group is undeniable as their return moved the team from a league-worst 1.95 g/gm through November 2.43 (24th) through January which is the exact same number they finished with last season. Conversely, on the defensive side injuries have hit their goals-against hard.
Last season Buffalo's defense was healthy to the point where only one defenseman, Chad Ruhwedel, was called up from Rochester and he appeared in only one game. This season the Sabres have used no less than four AHL-designated players who've played in a total of 65 games, with two of them anchoring the third-pairing for the entire month of January. Buffalo also recalled defenseman Brendan Guhle from his Canadian Junior club on an emergency basis for three games. A correlation could be made between the 2.62 GAA the team had last season with a healthy defense-corps and the 2.78 GAA they have right now with a depleted one.
Buffalo's powerplay continues to be one of the best in the league as it jumped from ninth to fifth in the league on an increase of 1.1 basis points while the PK finally got out of the basement, barely, by increasing their kill rate ever so slightly to 74.3%.
The Sabres are still a maddening club to watch in that they've shown the ability to skate with, and beat, some of the best teams in the league yet there are way too many clunkers in the mix at this point. In looking at the raw stats, they're trending upward save for the defensive side.
One thing that seems to be pretty clear is that the Sabres don't have the proper depth and haven't gotten consistent contributions from stars and complimentary players alike to go on any long run so far. They've managed to keep their winless streaks low, but haven't been able to go on a run longer than four games and if they ever hope to be able to move up the standings, they'll need to be better at both.
Right now they are what their record says they are, a middling team struggling to climb up the standings.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
It's gotten to the point in the season where stats are beginning to level off and are beginning to reveal just what teams are made of. That's not to say a long streak one way or another won't change things, as invariably one team or another goes hot or cold, but generally speaking teams that are at the top will stay there and the teams at the bottom are entrenched where they are there while parity gives us a huge block of teams in limbo.
With one month of hockey to go until the NHL Trade Deadline and there and only five points separates 13 teams between the 16th place Los Angeles Kings and 28th place Detroit Red Wings and the Buffalo Sabres are right there at the bottom of that clump in 27th.
Buffalo just finished the month of January with a 7-5-1 record, their best month this season, and it was looking even better until they dropped both games surrounding the All-Star break. Prior to the break they'd been living on the edge by winning three comeback wins in a row in overtime but they fell to Dallas before the break and last night they came back to a 5-2 thumping compliments of the Montreal Canadiens.
It was a good month for offense as the Sabres scored more, which is a good thing. During the month of January they averaged 3.23 goals/game which moved the needle considerably (for this point in the season) as they went from an average of 2.14 g/gm to 2.43. They scored four or more goals five times, going 5-0-0 in the process, and never scored under two goals in a game. The problem, as revealed in their goal differential, is that they gave up more goals-against.
Despite their increased offensive production the Sabres shaved off only two points in the differential department going from a -23 to a -21 and neither number is acceptable. Defensive breakdowns and goaltending gaffes lead to a marked increase in shots-against and a rise in their team goals-against average. The Sabres gave up four or more goals six times in the month finishing 1-4-1 in those games.
Last year at this time the Sabres were at 2.26 g/gm, allowed 2.62 ga/gm, had a goal differential of -22 and entered the month of February with a 20-26-4 record good for 46 points. They finished the season with 81 points on a 35-36-11 record averaging 2.43 g/gm (25th) while giving up an average of 2.62 (15th.) They're scoring at the same rate now that they finished with last year while giving up significantly more goals against this season.
Regardless of whether your inclined to believe in injuries as an excuse, in the very least they've had a significant impact on the Sabres. The correlation between Jack Eichel's return and the overall heling of the forward group is undeniable as their return moved the team from a league-worst 1.95 g/gm through November 2.43 (24th) through January which is the exact same number they finished with last season. Conversely, on the defensive side injuries have hit their goals-against hard.
Last season Buffalo's defense was healthy to the point where only one defenseman, Chad Ruhwedel, was called up from Rochester and he appeared in only one game. This season the Sabres have used no less than four AHL-designated players who've played in a total of 65 games, with two of them anchoring the third-pairing for the entire month of January. Buffalo also recalled defenseman Brendan Guhle from his Canadian Junior club on an emergency basis for three games. A correlation could be made between the 2.62 GAA the team had last season with a healthy defense-corps and the 2.78 GAA they have right now with a depleted one.
Buffalo's powerplay continues to be one of the best in the league as it jumped from ninth to fifth in the league on an increase of 1.1 basis points while the PK finally got out of the basement, barely, by increasing their kill rate ever so slightly to 74.3%.
The Sabres are still a maddening club to watch in that they've shown the ability to skate with, and beat, some of the best teams in the league yet there are way too many clunkers in the mix at this point. In looking at the raw stats, they're trending upward save for the defensive side.
One thing that seems to be pretty clear is that the Sabres don't have the proper depth and haven't gotten consistent contributions from stars and complimentary players alike to go on any long run so far. They've managed to keep their winless streaks low, but haven't been able to go on a run longer than four games and if they ever hope to be able to move up the standings, they'll need to be better at both.
Right now they are what their record says they are, a middling team struggling to climb up the standings.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--January: 20 (T-27th)...(WSH, 33)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th...(MTL)
--January: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--January: 15th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--January: 27th/49...(WSH/72)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--January: .500 (24th)...(MIN, .724)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--January: -21 (26th)...(MIN), +54
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--January: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.55)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--January: 29.8 (17th)...(PIT, 34.4)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--January: 2.78 (17th)...(WSH, 2.10)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--January: 33.3 (29th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--January: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 24.6)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--January: 74.3 (29th)...(CAR, 87.8)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--January: 50.6 (11th)...(ANA, 55.1)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Monday, January 2, 2017
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Team Stats--December
After 36 games the Buffalo Sabres find themselves in a familiar spot in the standings. Last season the Sabres were 28th in the league with 34 points at the end of December and they have the same number of points and are 28th the standings again, albeit having played two less games.
It's deja vu for the Sabres as the team stats we're about to go over are stunningly similar to what we saw at the end of 2015. The exception might be the Sabres year-over-year goal-differential which is 10 goals worse at -23 than they were at this point last season. That can be attributed to being slightly worse in both goals-for and goals-against. To this point last season Buffalo was averaging 2.29 g/gm (28th in the league) while this year 2.14 g/gm (also 28th) while their goals-against is was 2.58 ga/gm (14th) 2.67 ga/gm (also 14th.)
The shots-for and shots-against were almost exactly the same as well. At the end of December last season they were averaging 29.7 sh/gm (15th) while this year it's 29.5 sh/gm (17th.) On the defensive side Buffalo allowed 29.4 sa/gm (16th) last year as opposed to 29.5 sa/gm (17th) this year.
There were larger year-over-year differences in special teams, however, yet in the end they pretty much canceled each other out. The powerplay last year converted at a 19.3% (15th) clip to this point and this year they've converted on 21.6 % of their opportunities (9th) yet the penalty kill has fallen to the bottom of the league. Last year they killed at a 77.4% rate (25th) and this year it's dropped to 73.9%.
Add it all up and this edition of the Sabres is about the same numbers-wise but while they remained stagnant, other teams in the division and conference have gotten better. Last season they were seventh in the division, 15th in the conference, this year they're dead last.
It's been a maddening 2016 portion of the season for those of us who expected better, and in some cases much better, from this team. To be the nearly the exact same team as last season is unacceptable, even in light of the numerous injuries, some crippling, that the Sabres have endured so far this season.
The pieces were supposedly in place to take a step forward but it hasn't worked out that way to this point and many are getting restless, especially in light of two consecutive losses in regulation to a team they're chasing in the Atlantic Division. After blowing a two-goal lead at home against the Bruins the Sabres were hand-cuffed in Boston yesterday afternoon and lost 3-1. A six-point deficit against the division's third place team is now at 10 points which is at the very least, a tough hill to climb.
If Sabres fans think they're frustrated, according to reporters in the Buffalo locker room after the loss yesterday afternoon Jack Eichel, the face of the franchise, took the frustrations of everyone in Sabreland out on some equipment as he blew up.
From Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News:
"After a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in TD Garden that wasn't nearly as close as the score might say, a red-faced Eichel went berserk. He fired some pieces of equipment into his duffel bag, pounded others on his locker seat and drove the bag hard into the rubberized floor at one point.
"There were also some choice four-letter words spliced into the outburst of Eichel, who stormed out of the room without speaking to reporters."
Thank you, Jack. The kind of frustration and anger you showed has been the same anger and frustration eating away at Buffalo sports fans for decades, only we can't get the attention of owner Terry Pegula, team president Russ Brandon or GM Tim Murray like an outburst from the face of the franchise can.
The numbers show that what Murray put together, and that may include the coaching staff, needs some attention. The main parts--Eichel, center Ryan O'Reilly and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, are in place and there are some others who are nice complimentary pieces. But like fans have been saying for a while, there is some serious dead weight that needs to be removed and it shows in the numbers.
While compiling these stats I was thankful that I didn't need to write about last night's stinker in Boston, but coming up with stats that are almost exactly the same as last year wasn't very fun either as what we're left with is the same team as last season. The thing that has changed, however, is expectations. Last year we were fine coming out of the "tank years" with a struggling team in transition as they ended up taking a grand, relative step forward. But the expectation for this season was for them to continue progressing. They haven't and as we can see from the empty seats at KeyBank Center and as we hear those in attendance booing their home team, this team isn't anywhere near where anyone thought they should/could be.
Some say it's the players, some say it's the coaches while others lay the blame at the higher ups from Pegula to Brandon to Murray. I doubt any of them are happy with the product so far but the big question is to any of them have the capacity to fix it?
That will be the debate amongst fans in the coming months.
Happy New Year everyone. I wish I had something better to offer, but here are the team stats at the end of December, 2016.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th (MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
It's deja vu for the Sabres as the team stats we're about to go over are stunningly similar to what we saw at the end of 2015. The exception might be the Sabres year-over-year goal-differential which is 10 goals worse at -23 than they were at this point last season. That can be attributed to being slightly worse in both goals-for and goals-against. To this point last season Buffalo was averaging 2.29 g/gm (28th in the league) while this year 2.14 g/gm (also 28th) while their goals-against is was 2.58 ga/gm (14th) 2.67 ga/gm (also 14th.)
The shots-for and shots-against were almost exactly the same as well. At the end of December last season they were averaging 29.7 sh/gm (15th) while this year it's 29.5 sh/gm (17th.) On the defensive side Buffalo allowed 29.4 sa/gm (16th) last year as opposed to 29.5 sa/gm (17th) this year.
There were larger year-over-year differences in special teams, however, yet in the end they pretty much canceled each other out. The powerplay last year converted at a 19.3% (15th) clip to this point and this year they've converted on 21.6 % of their opportunities (9th) yet the penalty kill has fallen to the bottom of the league. Last year they killed at a 77.4% rate (25th) and this year it's dropped to 73.9%.
Add it all up and this edition of the Sabres is about the same numbers-wise but while they remained stagnant, other teams in the division and conference have gotten better. Last season they were seventh in the division, 15th in the conference, this year they're dead last.
It's been a maddening 2016 portion of the season for those of us who expected better, and in some cases much better, from this team. To be the nearly the exact same team as last season is unacceptable, even in light of the numerous injuries, some crippling, that the Sabres have endured so far this season.
The pieces were supposedly in place to take a step forward but it hasn't worked out that way to this point and many are getting restless, especially in light of two consecutive losses in regulation to a team they're chasing in the Atlantic Division. After blowing a two-goal lead at home against the Bruins the Sabres were hand-cuffed in Boston yesterday afternoon and lost 3-1. A six-point deficit against the division's third place team is now at 10 points which is at the very least, a tough hill to climb.
If Sabres fans think they're frustrated, according to reporters in the Buffalo locker room after the loss yesterday afternoon Jack Eichel, the face of the franchise, took the frustrations of everyone in Sabreland out on some equipment as he blew up.
From Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News:
"After a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in TD Garden that wasn't nearly as close as the score might say, a red-faced Eichel went berserk. He fired some pieces of equipment into his duffel bag, pounded others on his locker seat and drove the bag hard into the rubberized floor at one point.
"There were also some choice four-letter words spliced into the outburst of Eichel, who stormed out of the room without speaking to reporters."
Thank you, Jack. The kind of frustration and anger you showed has been the same anger and frustration eating away at Buffalo sports fans for decades, only we can't get the attention of owner Terry Pegula, team president Russ Brandon or GM Tim Murray like an outburst from the face of the franchise can.
The numbers show that what Murray put together, and that may include the coaching staff, needs some attention. The main parts--Eichel, center Ryan O'Reilly and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, are in place and there are some others who are nice complimentary pieces. But like fans have been saying for a while, there is some serious dead weight that needs to be removed and it shows in the numbers.
While compiling these stats I was thankful that I didn't need to write about last night's stinker in Boston, but coming up with stats that are almost exactly the same as last year wasn't very fun either as what we're left with is the same team as last season. The thing that has changed, however, is expectations. Last year we were fine coming out of the "tank years" with a struggling team in transition as they ended up taking a grand, relative step forward. But the expectation for this season was for them to continue progressing. They haven't and as we can see from the empty seats at KeyBank Center and as we hear those in attendance booing their home team, this team isn't anywhere near where anyone thought they should/could be.
Some say it's the players, some say it's the coaches while others lay the blame at the higher ups from Pegula to Brandon to Murray. I doubt any of them are happy with the product so far but the big question is to any of them have the capacity to fix it?
That will be the debate amongst fans in the coming months.
Happy New Year everyone. I wish I had something better to offer, but here are the team stats at the end of December, 2016.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--December: 13 (28th)...(CBJ, 26)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--December: 8th (MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--December: 16th...(CBJ)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--December: 28th/34...(CBJ/56)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--December: .472 (28th)...(CBJ, .800)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--December: -23 (27th)...(CBJ, +50)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--December: 2.14 (28th)...(CBJ, 3.46)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--December: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 34.8)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--December: 2.67 (14th)...(MIN, 2.06)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--December: 32.6 (27th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--December: 21.6 (9th)...(CBJ, 27.4)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--December: 73.9 (30th)...(CAR, 88.8)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--December: 51.1 (9th)...(ANA, 56.0)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Friday, December 2, 2016
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Team Stats--November
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-1-2016
For many Buffalo Sabres fans the season began on November 29th when Jack Eichel came back from his injury. Unfortunately the season officially began 21 games prior and injuries have put them into a hole heading into December.
It's a good thing that the Eastern Conference is wide open right now. Except for a some powerhouses like the NY Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division plus the Montreal Canadians and surging Tampa Bay Lightning in Buffalo's Atlantic Division, flux is the key word for the rest of the conference. Despite a rough November which featured a 5-6-3 record, the Sabres are only six points out of third place in the division and just four points out of a wild card spot. However, with the three-point game creating league-wide parity, the Sabres need to jump five teams to get to third place in the division and seven teams to make into the second wild card spot.
And so it goes.
It's a minor miracle that Buffalo was able to come out of November as well as they did, considering at one point they were missing their top two centers in Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly, a top-six winger in Evander Kane and two of their top-four defensemen--Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov. Five Rochester Americans were on recall to hold the fort at one point and they did the best they could.
The Sabres offense took a beating in last month without Eichel and O'Reilly anchoring the top two lines. Head coach Dan Bylsma did some serious juggling and at one point with Kane also on the sidelines had a whole line playing a notch above where they should be. Buffalo's goal scoring dipped below their tank-era futility-mark of 1.87 g/am and hit 1.63 in 13 November games prior to Eichel's return for the last game of the month. Although the five-goal outburst got them back up to 1.95 g/gm on the season, the Sabres are dead last in that department. Take out the powerplay which finished the month at a fifth-best 22.7% clip and it's disastrous.
Defense and goaltending salvaged November for the Sabres as they slightly reduced their goals-against to 2.45 ga/gm (10th) despite averaging two shots-against per game more for the month. The absence of Bogosian and Kulikov, however, took it's toll on the penalty kill as it dropped from an 86.7% kill rate to 78.7% going from seventh to 25th in the league.
For as jumbled as it's been for the team through the first quarter of the season, if the last game vs. the Ottawa Senators is any indication, Eichel's return is huge for the offense as the rest of the lineup falls into place. The Sabres still have issues on the back-end with Bogosian and Kulikov out of the lineup--especially on the penalty kill--but that can be helped by more offense and more speed on the back check.
The Sabres play six of the next seven at home beginning tonight against the offensive juggernaut known as the NY Rangers. The Rangers are averaging a league-best 3.67 goals/game so far this season and have a league-best goal differential of +29. And not only do they bring it with speed and skill, they also have themselves one of the best goaltenders in the league--Henrik Lundqvist.
That, my friends, represents a pretty stiff challenge for the Sabres to begin the month of December.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 3 0th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--2015-16: .494 (23d)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--2015-16: 2.62, (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
For many Buffalo Sabres fans the season began on November 29th when Jack Eichel came back from his injury. Unfortunately the season officially began 21 games prior and injuries have put them into a hole heading into December.
It's a good thing that the Eastern Conference is wide open right now. Except for a some powerhouses like the NY Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division plus the Montreal Canadians and surging Tampa Bay Lightning in Buffalo's Atlantic Division, flux is the key word for the rest of the conference. Despite a rough November which featured a 5-6-3 record, the Sabres are only six points out of third place in the division and just four points out of a wild card spot. However, with the three-point game creating league-wide parity, the Sabres need to jump five teams to get to third place in the division and seven teams to make into the second wild card spot.
And so it goes.
It's a minor miracle that Buffalo was able to come out of November as well as they did, considering at one point they were missing their top two centers in Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly, a top-six winger in Evander Kane and two of their top-four defensemen--Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov. Five Rochester Americans were on recall to hold the fort at one point and they did the best they could.
The Sabres offense took a beating in last month without Eichel and O'Reilly anchoring the top two lines. Head coach Dan Bylsma did some serious juggling and at one point with Kane also on the sidelines had a whole line playing a notch above where they should be. Buffalo's goal scoring dipped below their tank-era futility-mark of 1.87 g/am and hit 1.63 in 13 November games prior to Eichel's return for the last game of the month. Although the five-goal outburst got them back up to 1.95 g/gm on the season, the Sabres are dead last in that department. Take out the powerplay which finished the month at a fifth-best 22.7% clip and it's disastrous.
Defense and goaltending salvaged November for the Sabres as they slightly reduced their goals-against to 2.45 ga/gm (10th) despite averaging two shots-against per game more for the month. The absence of Bogosian and Kulikov, however, took it's toll on the penalty kill as it dropped from an 86.7% kill rate to 78.7% going from seventh to 25th in the league.
For as jumbled as it's been for the team through the first quarter of the season, if the last game vs. the Ottawa Senators is any indication, Eichel's return is huge for the offense as the rest of the lineup falls into place. The Sabres still have issues on the back-end with Bogosian and Kulikov out of the lineup--especially on the penalty kill--but that can be helped by more offense and more speed on the back check.
The Sabres play six of the next seven at home beginning tonight against the offensive juggernaut known as the NY Rangers. The Rangers are averaging a league-best 3.67 goals/game so far this season and have a league-best goal differential of +29. And not only do they bring it with speed and skill, they also have themselves one of the best goaltenders in the league--Henrik Lundqvist.
That, my friends, represents a pretty stiff challenge for the Sabres to begin the month of December.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--November: 8 (T-28th)...(MTL, NYR, 16)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--November: 8th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--November: 15th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--November: 28th/21...(MTL/34)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 3 0th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: .500 (T-15th)...(MTL, .944)
--November: .477 (26th)...(MTL, .739)
--2015-16: .494 (23d)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--November: -13 (25th)...(NYR, +29)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--November: 1.95 (30th)...(NYR, 3.67)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--November: 29.4 (20th)...(PIT, 33.9)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--November: 2.45 (10th)...(SJS. 2.09)
--2015-16: 2.62, (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--November: 32.5 (26th)...(LAK, 25.4)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--November: 22.7 (5th)...(CBJ, 27.8)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--November: 78.7 (25th)...(CAR, 89.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--November: 51.5 (5th)...(ANA, 56.8)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Team Stats--October
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-1-2016
The Buffalo Sabres finished the month of October on a high note with two convincing wins vs. the Florida Panthers and at the Winnipeg Jets by a combined 6-1 score. With only eight games played thus far scores like that have a definitive impact on stats this early in the season. The two wins pushed Buffalo's record to 3-3-2 and is a positive step forward compared to last season when they went 2-6 through their first eight games.
All the general metrics for team stats are on pace with or better when compared to how they finished last season except for shots on goal/game, which might give the Corsi Brigage of the Analytics Army cause for concern. Last season the Sabres finished No. 1 in the league in shots on goal/game for the month of October (11 games total) and sat seventh in the division, 14th in the conference, 24th in the league. Kinda reminds me what the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing this season.
The Sabres had a pretty good month, save for their middling record, considering that they were without two top six forwards in Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, not to mention starting goaltender Robin Lehner was felled by illness and was out of the lineup for three games. One of the games Lehner was sidelined for was against the Philadelphia Flyers, a game Buffalo should have won, but didn't after giving up a three goal, third period lead and losing in the shootout. Still, with eight points in eight games, they're ahead of last year's pace when the Sabres didn't get their eighth point until the 11 game.
Special teams are ruling the day for the Sabres as they're seventh in the league on both the powerplay and the penalty kill. Goals/game is up even though shots on goal is down while their goals-against is down with the same number of shots against they finished last season with. All-in-all they've managed a -1 goal-differential on the season which is a far cry from their minus-12 through eight games last season.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: 50 (T-15th)...(MTL, 94.4)
--2015-16: 49.4 (23d)...(WSH, 73.2)
--2014-15 32.9 (30th)...(NYR, 68.9)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--2015-16: 2.62, (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
The Buffalo Sabres finished the month of October on a high note with two convincing wins vs. the Florida Panthers and at the Winnipeg Jets by a combined 6-1 score. With only eight games played thus far scores like that have a definitive impact on stats this early in the season. The two wins pushed Buffalo's record to 3-3-2 and is a positive step forward compared to last season when they went 2-6 through their first eight games.
All the general metrics for team stats are on pace with or better when compared to how they finished last season except for shots on goal/game, which might give the Corsi Brigage of the Analytics Army cause for concern. Last season the Sabres finished No. 1 in the league in shots on goal/game for the month of October (11 games total) and sat seventh in the division, 14th in the conference, 24th in the league. Kinda reminds me what the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing this season.
The Sabres had a pretty good month, save for their middling record, considering that they were without two top six forwards in Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, not to mention starting goaltender Robin Lehner was felled by illness and was out of the lineup for three games. One of the games Lehner was sidelined for was against the Philadelphia Flyers, a game Buffalo should have won, but didn't after giving up a three goal, third period lead and losing in the shootout. Still, with eight points in eight games, they're ahead of last year's pace when the Sabres didn't get their eighth point until the 11 game.
Special teams are ruling the day for the Sabres as they're seventh in the league on both the powerplay and the penalty kill. Goals/game is up even though shots on goal is down while their goals-against is down with the same number of shots against they finished last season with. All-in-all they've managed a -1 goal-differential on the season which is a far cry from their minus-12 through eight games last season.
Buffalo Sabres Team Stats/League Rankings...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 3 (T-23rd)...(MTL, 8)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 7th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
Eastern Conference Standing
--October: 12th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
League standing/Points
--October: 20th/8...(MTL/17)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
Points Percentage
--October: 50 (T-15th)...(MTL, 94.4)
--2015-16: 49.4 (23d)...(WSH, 73.2)
--2014-15 32.9 (30th)...(NYR, 68.9)
Goal Differential
--October: -1 (16th)...(MTL, +17)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
Goals/Game
--October: 2.50 (21st)...(NYR, 3.89)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
Shots/Game
--October: 27.4 (28th)...(TOR, 34.7)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
Goals-against/Game
--October: 2.50 (12th)...(MTL, 1.44)
--2015-16: 2.62, (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
Shots against/Game
--October: 30.6 (20th)...(WSH, 25)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
Powerplay
--October: 25.0 (7th)...(NSH, 35.7)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
Penalty Kill
--October: 86.7 (7th)...(MIN, 96.2)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
Faceoff Percentage
--October: 54.7 (3rd)...(ANA, 59.3)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
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