Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-9-2019
No one in Sabreland should have been surprised the Buffalo Sabres lost 5-4 in Chicago. That it happened in the shootout maybe, but the real surprise was the names on the score sheet for Buffalo. Vladimir Sobotka, Zach Bogosian and Kyle Okposo, three players mentioned in the last blog as being "miscast and/or overpriced vets" all scored for the Sabres against the Blackhawks. Newcomer Brandon Montour, who was acquired at the NHL trade deadline nearly two weeks ago, scored his second goal in the Blue and Gold but the Sabres blew a third period lead and lost in the shootout as goalie Carter Hutton was unable to stop any of the three Chicago shooters that came his way.
What a waste of a night, but it's par for the course for Buffalo as of late and especially on the road. The Sabres woes in the Windy City continued as they haven't won in Chicago since January 10, 2007 (0-6-3) and they presently have the NHL's second-worst road record of 11-18-5. Since the end of the Sabres 10-game winning streak in November, the club is only 3-14-4. Post All-Star break when it's time to play for keeps in a playoff push, the Sabres are 1-6-2 with their only win coming in Columbus the day after the break ended.
Buffalo's home record post-break of 5-4-1 isn't great but it's fairly respectable and had they been able to move the needled on the road from abysmal to meh with a couple of wins, their playoff deficit wouldn't have ballooned from two points on January 30 to 10 points today.
Such is the season.
Showing posts with label 2019 Playoff Push. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2019 Playoff Push. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Get those fingers warmed up and start pointing
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-6-2019
The finger-pointing portion of the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres schedule is upon us as the team is almost certainly destined for a playoff-less Spring. Where once they were the toast of the town, this group of Sabres has dropped below also-ran status and are once again destined to miss the playoffs.
It's been eight years since Buffalo dropped a seven-game series to the Philadelphia Flyers under new owner Terry Pegula and since then there have been a ton of changes beginning in the upper reaches of the front office. Gone is team president Ted Black, the author of the phrase "Hockey Heaven" which he used to describe the organization they wanted to build. Black was a part of Pegula's inner circle when he first bought the team and one of the architects of the tank years but he was ousted in July, 2015 and replaced by Russ Brandon, who'd been team president of the Buffalo Bills, also owned by the Pegula family. Brandon resigned in May, 2018 after "internal investigations" and the position of team president was filled by Kim Pegula, Terry's wife.
In between there was the short-lived tenure of Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, who was President of Hockey Operations from November, 2013 to March, 2014. LaFontaine left the organization after presumably butting heads over the direction of the team.
The Sabres are on their third general manager and fifth head coach since Pegula bought the team in February, 2011 and outside of the 2013-15 tank years, they've been searching for a true identity that can produce a playoff season.
The finger-pointing portion of the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres schedule is upon us as the team is almost certainly destined for a playoff-less Spring. Where once they were the toast of the town, this group of Sabres has dropped below also-ran status and are once again destined to miss the playoffs.
It's been eight years since Buffalo dropped a seven-game series to the Philadelphia Flyers under new owner Terry Pegula and since then there have been a ton of changes beginning in the upper reaches of the front office. Gone is team president Ted Black, the author of the phrase "Hockey Heaven" which he used to describe the organization they wanted to build. Black was a part of Pegula's inner circle when he first bought the team and one of the architects of the tank years but he was ousted in July, 2015 and replaced by Russ Brandon, who'd been team president of the Buffalo Bills, also owned by the Pegula family. Brandon resigned in May, 2018 after "internal investigations" and the position of team president was filled by Kim Pegula, Terry's wife.
In between there was the short-lived tenure of Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, who was President of Hockey Operations from November, 2013 to March, 2014. LaFontaine left the organization after presumably butting heads over the direction of the team.
The Sabres are on their third general manager and fifth head coach since Pegula bought the team in February, 2011 and outside of the 2013-15 tank years, they've been searching for a true identity that can produce a playoff season.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Save for one season, McEchiel era has been a dud for both Edmonton and Buffalo
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-4-2019
Had we been shown the scheduled date of tonight's matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres four years ago, we' have perceived it in a different light. Two franchise centers were atop the 2015 NHL Draft that season and it set off a mad scramble between two teams to finish in last place to secure at least one of them as lottery system guaranteed that the last place team could drop no further than one spot.
The Sabres did finish in last place but were jumped by the Oilers via the draft lottery. Edmonton selected a transformative player in Connor McDavid with the first pick in the draft while Buffalo walked away with the "consolation prize" of franchise center Jack Eichel, who was taken second-overall. The two players will be forever linked far beyond the "McEichel" moniker placed upon that draft and are still linked in that both their organizations have floundered since selecting them.
Had we been shown the scheduled date of tonight's matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres four years ago, we' have perceived it in a different light. Two franchise centers were atop the 2015 NHL Draft that season and it set off a mad scramble between two teams to finish in last place to secure at least one of them as lottery system guaranteed that the last place team could drop no further than one spot.
The Sabres did finish in last place but were jumped by the Oilers via the draft lottery. Edmonton selected a transformative player in Connor McDavid with the first pick in the draft while Buffalo walked away with the "consolation prize" of franchise center Jack Eichel, who was taken second-overall. The two players will be forever linked far beyond the "McEichel" moniker placed upon that draft and are still linked in that both their organizations have floundered since selecting them.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Sabres/Leafs Part III
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-2-2019
The Toronto Maple Leafs took a George Forman right to the jaw Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum as John Tavares' return to the place where he spent his first nine seasons couldn't have gone any worse. Fans on Long Island felt a LeBron James-worthy jilt as the former first overall pick in 2009 took his talents, and his Maple Leafs jammies to the "Center of the Hockey Universe" last summer.
Islanders fans thought they were played by Tavares and they let him known it. They "welcomed" him back with boos, jeers and chants of "where's your jammies," hurled objects at him inside the arena while outside there were the usual insults to his No. 91 sweater from the jersey-buying public. His former team laid a 6-1 thumping on his Maple Leafs, the team he'd dreamed of playing for since he was a kid.
Toronto went into an extremely hostile environment with a playoff atmosphere ratcheted up to 11 and got smoked. How they react is the next page of the story and the Buffalo Sabres are front and center. This will be the second meeting this week between the two clubs. The Sabres jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Monday before the Leafs blitzed them for four unanswered goals in the second period. Buffalo scored a late goal in that frame, came out in the third with a goal nine seconds in and almost tied the game before surrendering a Toronto empty-netter.
The Toronto Maple Leafs took a George Forman right to the jaw Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum as John Tavares' return to the place where he spent his first nine seasons couldn't have gone any worse. Fans on Long Island felt a LeBron James-worthy jilt as the former first overall pick in 2009 took his talents, and his Maple Leafs jammies to the "Center of the Hockey Universe" last summer.
Islanders fans thought they were played by Tavares and they let him known it. They "welcomed" him back with boos, jeers and chants of "where's your jammies," hurled objects at him inside the arena while outside there were the usual insults to his No. 91 sweater from the jersey-buying public. His former team laid a 6-1 thumping on his Maple Leafs, the team he'd dreamed of playing for since he was a kid.
Toronto went into an extremely hostile environment with a playoff atmosphere ratcheted up to 11 and got smoked. How they react is the next page of the story and the Buffalo Sabres are front and center. This will be the second meeting this week between the two clubs. The Sabres jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Monday before the Leafs blitzed them for four unanswered goals in the second period. Buffalo scored a late goal in that frame, came out in the third with a goal nine seconds in and almost tied the game before surrendering a Toronto empty-netter.
Monday, February 25, 2019
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.
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.
Friday, February 22, 2019
Botterill makes it pretty clear, the Sabres are on their own
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.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Slip-slidin' away
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-18-2019
The pattern of alternating between wins and losses broke the wrong way last night as the Buffalo Sabres lost 4-1 in New Jersey. Buffalo had been in win one, lose one mode dating back to a win at Calgary on January 16 which produced a 5-5-1 record and kept them in the general area of the Eastern Conference wild card race.
Prior to the Calgary game, Buffalo was five points behind the Montreal Canadiens but had two games in hand and they were four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not too much has change for Buffalo the last four weeks as they're still looking up at the Habs and Pens, both of whom have 69 points and have each played one more game than the 63-point Sabres.
The pattern of alternating between wins and losses broke the wrong way last night as the Buffalo Sabres lost 4-1 in New Jersey. Buffalo had been in win one, lose one mode dating back to a win at Calgary on January 16 which produced a 5-5-1 record and kept them in the general area of the Eastern Conference wild card race.
Prior to the Calgary game, Buffalo was five points behind the Montreal Canadiens but had two games in hand and they were four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not too much has change for Buffalo the last four weeks as they're still looking up at the Habs and Pens, both of whom have 69 points and have each played one more game than the 63-point Sabres.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Pressing towards the trade deadline with a game-packed stretch coming up
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-15-2019
The Buffalo Sabres took Monday and Wednesday off this week and will finish a seven-game homestand with a bout against the NY Rangers tonight at KeyBank Center. Buffalo started out this stand getting trampled upon by the Chicago Blackhawks and proceeded to alternate between wins and losses the next five games. A win tonight would be big on a number of levels as it would offer up a bit of redemption for the club after a rough start to the homestand, it will give them their first back-to-back wins since December, and it will pull them a bit closer to a playoff spot.
Buffalo's 3-2-1 record during the stand is decent so far but it hasn't been enough to significantly move the needle in their playoff push and losing to the Carolina Hurricanes last week certainly didn't help matters even if they did get a loser-point. The 'Canes jumped ahead of Buffalo in the standings with that 6-5 overtime win although the Sabres still have a game in hand. Tonight Carolina hosts the struggling Edmonton Oilers who are presently in a death-spiral (2-6-2 in their last 10 games.)
Yesterday's scoreboard was kind to the Sabres as two teams they're chasing both lost. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who are presently in a dog-fight to stay top-three in the Metropolitan Division were shutout 3-0 and the Montreal Canadiens who sit third in the Atlantic Division lost 3-1 last night. Buffalo is four points behind the Jackets while playing the same number of games and they're six points behind the Habs with a game in hand meaning a win tonight will pull the Sabres that much closer to teams they're chasing.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Sabres finding a formula for (moderate) success. Sorry it's boring to some.
The Buffalo Sabres have had an identity crises through much of their decade-long slog through the wasteland of mediocrity and worse. About the only time were we were sure what kind of team we had came during the tank years of 2013-15 and the defensive-minded 2009-10 team that featured a Vezina-winning goaltender in Ryan Miller, Calder-winning defenseman Tyler Myers and a defensive-minded team that posted the NHL's fourth-best goals-against average. The years in and around those were littered with inconsistencies from an organization that couldn't figure out who they were or what they wanted to be and players who wanted to be something they weren't.
It would seem as if this edition of the Sabres is in a similar conundrum as the team they'd really like to be doesn't match up with the talent on hand. No doubt Buffalo has acquired some skill via the draft and trades while also upping their overall team speed, but they're still far removed from the elite teams in the league and in the process of trying to be like them, or act like them, they forgot certain tried and true aspects of the game, like defense.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Sabres treading water, but actually gain a point in playoff race
Often twitter-embattled Sabres beat writer Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News had a rather positive response to a tweet yesterday that read, "Kiss the playoff push bye-bye" after the Sabres dropped a 3-1 decision to the Winnipeg Jets at home that afternoon. A typically cynical Harrington stuck to the hard numbers and offered up this in retort, "Look at the standings, people. TWO points out."
Worms meet can opener.
Harrington's been defending that quote for the last 19 hours as a very restless Buffalo Sabres fanbase struggles with the fact that their team, which was once at the top of the league, is treading water and presently outside of a playoff spot. As the curtain closed on the loss to the Jets yesterday evening, Harrington was left to throw life preservers to an anguished fan base on the verge of drowning in their distress, which is quite ironic as the longtime sports writer has unabashedly focused his ire upon the team beginning at the top with ownership and hitting every rung on the way down.
Saturday, January 26, 2019
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.
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.
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