Olofsson scores first NHL goal. Jackets in town with a lot on the line

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-31-2019

Congratulations to winger Victor Olofsson scored his first NHL goal last night in a 5-1 loss against the NY Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. The 23 yr. old native of Sweden earned the nickname "Goalofsson" for his work in Rochester this season as his 27 goals for the Americans led the team before his call-up two games ago. Forward C.J. Smith racked up two goals in Binghamton last night to tie Olofsson for the team lead.

Olofsson's goal came late in the third period with the Sabres down 5-0 and on the powerplay. Buffalo captain Jack Eichel kept the puck from leaving the Islanders zone and whipped a cross-ice pass to Olofsson who was all alone at the point. After waiting a bit for Sam Reinhart to position himself for a screen, Olofsson took a couple of steps in and sent a wrister far side to break the shutout bid by former Sabres goalie Robin Lehner.

That was all the good news for the Sabres last night as their plummet to the bottom part of the league continues. After last night's loss Buffalo is on record as losing six in a row (0-5-1,) are 1-11-2 in their last 13 games and are only 4-17-3 since a three-game point-streak in early February. They're presently 27th in the league only two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings.

Hello T.O. Sabres in Toronto with a little wind in their sails

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-25-2019


Sabres GM Jason Botterill made the big move last night in trading for Anaheim Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour. Buffalo gave up one of it's three 2019 first round picks (but not their own) and 21 yr. old d-prospect Brendan Guhle for Montour although the 24 yr. old Brampton, Ontario native won't be in the lineup tonight against his the Toronto Maple Leafs. Botterill told the gathered media that the team wasn't interested in rushing Montour to Toronto on a red-eye to play tonight but that he'll be in the lineup tomorrow night in Philadelphia against the Flyers.

In the only other move by Botterill and the Sabres, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2019, sixth round draft pick. Beaulieu was acquired by Botterill on June 17, 2017 from the Montreal Canadiens for a third round pick (Scott Walford) and played in 89 games for the Sabres scoring four goals and adding 12 assists with a minus-18 rating while averaging 15:32 of ice time. Beaulieu's time dwindled with Buffalo this season and he was often a healthy scratch causing him to ask for more ice-time while indirectly saying he wanted to be traded if Buffalo couldn't accommodate. His wishes came true today as the Jets added him for defensive depth.

In all, Sabres still in a playoff race heading towards the NHL Trade Deadline

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-24-2019


At the conclusion of yesterday's matinee with the Washington Capitals, Sabres fans couldn't help but wonder where this type of team had been the past two-plus months. Granted, the Caps were at the end of a six-game road trip and a 1pm start probably didn't help matters, but Washington did awaken from their sleepwalk as the game went on and the defending Stanley Cup champions twice left those at KeyBank Center with a feeling of angst.

Quite often this season, as well as during their recent four-game losing streak (0-3-1,) the Buffalo Sabres would look strong early only to be overtaken in the mid-to-latter portions of the game and it looked as if this one was headed in that direction. Buffalo jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and saw Washington cut the lead by one early in the second period but a very late Sabres powerplay goal restored their two-goal cushion heading into the second intermission. The Capitals cut the lead again just 4:16 into the final frame but Sam Reinhart's beautiful tip just 83 seconds later to made it a 4-2 game before the Sabres locked it down the rest of the way. Reinhart, who had scored Buffalo's second goal, would add a 185-foot empty-netter for the third hat trick of his career.

The second period was crucial for the Sabres yesterday and it could have ended up a disaster. Buffalo ended the prior stanza with a 1:58 powerplay but nothing came of it and they couldn't extend their 2-0 lead. Washington came to life with Alexander Ovechkin scoring his 44th of the season just 2:28 into the frame and it set off a flurry of action directed at Buffalo netminder Carter Hutton. But other than the Ovechkin's laser of a goal-scorer's goal, Hutton came up big. The 33 yr. old netminder came up with two more big saves over the next seven minutes to keep the game 2-1. It was the type of goaltending performance that bolstered the team during their 10-game winning streak but was mostly missing since.

Botterill makes it pretty clear, the Sabres are on their own

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-21-2019

The Buffalo Sabres are in Tampa, Florida tonight to take on the League-leading Lightning at Amalie Arena. The game kicks off an extremely rough patch where the Sabres play three Eastern Conference heavyweights in the span of five days with two of those on the road. After tonight Buffalo heads home to face off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals then travel up to Toronto to take on the archrival Maple Leafs just a few hours after the NHL Trade Deadline. The combined record of those three teams is 115-50-15.

Buffalo heads into these matchups while on a three-game losing streak. The teams they lost to--NY Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers--have a combined record of 75-78-24 and are three of the bottom-five teams in the conference. It was a trio of games that could have bolstered the Sabres playoff chances but in losing all three, whatever playoff optimism Sabreland had to took a big hit even though they're still in the mix.

It's not over, by any means as the Sabres are six points out of a playoff spot with one team to jump, a game in hand on a couple of teams they trail and 23 games to go, but it would take one hell of a turnaround to come out of these next three games with enough points to keep their playoff hopes alive. And by the looks of it, whatever turnaround occurs will come almost exclusively from the players in the room.

Alternating wins/losses, good/bad play making it difficult for BUF GM

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-16-2019


Imagine you're Buffalo GM Jason Botterill and the possibility of ending a seven-year playoff drought is within reach. But the balance between talent and flaws has you stuck in no-man's land and with just over a week to go before the NHL trade deadline your team is treading water alternating between wins and losses the past 11 games. They've not been able to win two in a row since December yet they've only had one real bad stretch (3-8-1,) one that effectively balanced out their 10-game winning streak in November. The teams in and around your team in the playoff bubble have been hot with some cooling down and all of them have issues, but they've made enough headway to create a little breathing room with still a long way to go.

Complicating matters is the fact that the team with the longest current playoff drought, one year more than your team, is ahead of you in the standings and looks like they may reach the playoffs before you do. Should that happen while you miss out again, you would be the GM of a team with the longest current NHL playoff drought even after having possibly the longest winning streak in the League that season.

Such is the conundrum of Botterill and his Buffalo Sabres.

Sabres at the All-Star break--where they are and where they might be headed

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-24-2019


At 54 points on the season, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves in the playoff mix and to those who didn't get caught up in the 10-game winning streak or lose their minds as the Sabres went 7-12-4 post streak, this is pretty much where many thought they might be. It's not some Pollyanna Phil-like reach for positivity to point out that the team is by far better than they were last season, and better than the they were in 2016-17 at this point in the season. Consider:

--Last season they finished with 62 points and so far this year the Sabres have 54 on a 24-18-6 record. At this point in the '16-'17 season,  Buffalo had 49 points on a 20-19-9 record.
--With 32 games remaining, their 24 wins is one away from last season and nine away from the year before when they had 33 and finished with 78 points. The pace the Sabres are on right now is that of a 41-win season and 92 total points.

Beaulexit? Sabres d-man is said to want more playing time in Buffalo

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-17-2019

Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu is said to be wanting out of Buffalo. Reports surfaced last night that the 26 yr. old Strathroy, Ontario native asked to be traded but according to TSN, Beaulieu's agent Kent Hughes said that there wasn't a trade-demand.

"He's not happy with Buffalo," Hughes was quoted as saying about Beaulieu, "he's looking for more of an opportunity to play.

The 2011 first round pick (17th-overall, MTL) has played in 26 of the Sabres 47 games to date scoring three goals and adding four assists to go along with an even plus/minus rating. Beaulieu hadn't played at all in the 2019 portion of the schedule until he hit the ice in Edmonton against the Oilers. The Sabres got shellacked 7-2 in that game and the 6'2" 200 lb. left-handed defenseman had a rough game, just like every other Sabres player not named Rasmus Dahlin, finishing with zero points and a minus-2 rating in 16:43 of ice-time. Buffalo coach Phil Housley replaced Beaulieu with rookie Lawrence Pilut for last night's win over the Calgary Flames.