Where's the bottom for this Buffalo Sabres franchise?

In 1956 the New York Football Giants won the NFL Championship and for five of the next six seasons they made it to the NFL championship game only to lose. Regardless of that fact the Giants were considered a model franchise but after their 14-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 1963 championship game, New York went 17 consecutive seasons without making the playoffs and got progressively worse (4-23-1 in 1973 and '74 combined) before stagnating well below the .500 mark until the 80's.

Football fans largely ignored the Giants and in a pre-ESPN era where game highlights were mainly shown via local news broadcasts and in Sunday pre-game or halftime shows (think Monday Night Football with a national audience,) out of sight, out of mind. As the New York football Giants continued floundering through another lost season, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it did. On November 19, 1978 with New York up 17-12 over the Philadelphia Eagles late in the game, the 'brain'-trust on the sideline scoffed at the thought of kneeling to run out the clock and 'boldly' decided to run a complicated play. Quarterback Joe Pisarcik's handoff to Larry Csonka was flubbed and Eagles cornerback Herm Edwards scooped up the fumble for the winning touchdown.

Why this story in a blog about the Buffalo Sabres?

It's about finding the bottom.

Time for the Buffalo Sabres to strip it down...again

It's the perpetual question in Sabreland, how many failures will we go through before this organization to finally gets it right? It gets tiring having to revisit the amount of turnover that's existed since Terry Pegula bought the Buffalo Sabres in 2011 so we'll make it as quick as possible: numerous changes in upper management including a very brief, four-month stint for a hockey operations vice president, a fourth general manager, this one with no pro hockey administrative experience and after a recent firing of their head coach, the Sabres are on their seventh bench boss who is interim status means (we suspect) an eighth one is coming soon.

Then there's figuring out the identity of the team which, seemingly, will transform again (if there ever really was a fully conceptualized one to begin with). Again, we'll try to keep it brief: two tank years followed by a focus on a western conference, heavy style, which was followed up by an eastern conference stretch-the-ice, offensive style and, most recently, a defense-will-lead-to-offense philosophical approach.

Got that?

The Covid-19 shortened 2021 hockey season may go down as the worst season in Buffalo Sabres history. This despite a small core of upper-end talent augmented by the signings a former League MVP and and aging, but still productive (until this season) Stanley Cup winner. 

It was an epic fail.

As written here, this Sabres team was not built for the rugged 2021 MassMutual East Division which was part of an NHL restructuring with coronavirus travel limitations in mind. The sad part about this team as constructed is that even if they were in their regular Atlantic Division instead of the rugged east as constructed this for this season, they'd be bottom-three at best and undoubtedly barreling towards a 10 consecutive season outside the playoffs and yet another high draft choice.

Not built for a rugged MassMutual East division

From the get-go we knew here that this was going to be a very difficult season for the Buffalo Sabres as they were moved into a newly formed MassMutual East division in a realignment designed by the league to limit exposure in the world of Covid-19. The Sabres and their Atlantic division foe, the Boston Bruins, were thrown into a group of Metropolitan division heavyweights featuring the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and NY Islanders. The NY Rangers and New Jersey Devils, both up-and-coming teams with young talent topped by first-overall draft picks, round out the division.

The Sabres have always had trouble with heavyweights, like the Bruins who combine skill, speed, toughness and a relentless pursuit of the puck. They've also struggled against the Capitals, a big, tough team with plenty of top-end skill and a ruggedness up and down the lineup. The Islanders are now presenting everyone with problems. Ever since Barry Trotz, who had coached the Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship, took over the reigns on Long Island, his team has featured relentless forechecking and a lock-down defensive system that's harder to penetrate than Fort Knox when they have the lead. And they have some high-end skill that can get them out front as well. 

Philadelphia plays an irritating brand of hockey predicated on sandpaper running through a team that has plenty of speed and skill. The Penguins aren't really a rugged team, but when you have a triumvirate of Hall-of-Famers who led the team to three Stanley Cups in nine years with veritable nobodies riding shotgun, as long as those three are on the ice, they're always a threat to win.

And in come the Buffalo Sabres, a team that hasn't had an identity since 2007 when they were the toast of the league after two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Since an ignominious '07 off season that will live in infamy, they've been wandering in the wilderness trying to figure out who they are and/or what they want to be. In the last 10 years alone since Terry Pegula bought the team, they went from a general manager seemingly hell-bent on a rugged, west-coast style, to his successor who shunned that and began to build more of a skilled team. Both combined for five years of futility and burned through three coaches with their teams never finishing with more than 81 points in any one season. Oh, and one more thing, this non-descript Sabres team was left to carry a nine-year playoff drought into the toughest division in hockey this season.

Buffalo is not bereft of talent. Captain Jack Eichel had a 2018-19 season that saw him on the threshold of joining some of the best players in the league. Winger Jeff Skinner was fifth in the league in even-strength goals from his 2010-11 rookie season to 2018-19 and had a 40-goal season that year. Right-winger Sam Reinhart was dubbed "The Quiet One" by this writer as he quietly racked up 205 points (87+118) between his rookie campaign and 2018-19, good for second on the team behind Eichel. And this past off-season, new GM Kevyn Adams used the relationship between head coach Ralph Krueger and free agent winger Taylor Hall to lure the 2018 league MVP to Buffalo with a one-year deal.

Despite questions in goal and the reliance upon an unchanged blueline that made many a hardened heart skip a beat last season, most expected this team to play a style that was conducive to scoring. But it hasn't been happening. Other than an impressive 6-1 victory over the Flyers in Game-3 (possibly giving them hubristic, false sense of security,) this group of players has struggled mightily and it doesn't look as if will get any better in a division that has no Ottawa Senators or Detroit Red Wings to beat up on.

Then again, as we delve s bit deeper into the past two seasons, it's really not surprising as collectively the top four Sabres' 2021 offensive roster players haven't done very well versus a combination of Boston, Washington, the NY Islanders, and Philadelphia, four of the toughest teams to play against in the entire NHL.

From 2018-19 through the Covid-shortenened 2019-20 season, the foursome of Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart and Hall (who played for New Jersey and the Arizona Coyotes those two seasons) combined for 189 goals and 450 points in 536 games worth an average of .35 goals/game and .84 points/game. Against their new division foes they've put up similar averages over that time frame with 48 goals and 102 points in 128 games (.38 goals and .80 points per game, respectively.)

However, those numbers took a little dip in 77 games against those four heavyweights of the newly formed East division as they've combined for 19 goals and 52 points or .25 goals/gm and .68 pts/gm, respectively. Also of note, over those two seasons, the Buffalo's top four offensive players have a combined for a minus-73 rating in 536 total games overall but a minus-38 rating in 77 games versus the Bruins, Capitals, Islanders and Flyers (Eichel's minus-5 leads that group.)

Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner and Hall have fared better against Pittsburgh and the Rangers as they were on par with their overall averages. In 38 games against those two teams they have combined for 14 goals (.37/gm) and 28 points (.76/gm) and are a collective plus-1 (Reinhart plus-6.) And they do have one team that they like to play against, New Jersey. Eichel, Reinhart and Skinner (because Hall played for New Jersey most of the time) combined to play in 13 games against the Devils scoring seven goals and 14 points (.54 goals/game and 1.08 points/game.)

On an individual basis, against Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and the NY Islanders, Eichel was able to hold his own with 20 points (9+11) in 20 games, a point/game production just below his 1.10 points/game over that period, but the other three have faltered or failed miserably. 

Hall's two goals in 14 games and Skinner's four goals in 21 games come out to only .14 and .19 goals/game respectively, exactly half of their overall average those two seasons. Reinhart posted .18 goals/game versus .29 and .59 points/game versus .76 overall. And while Eichel remained consistent against all four of those heavyweights, others faltered or failed against some teams in that group.  Skinner had zero points in 21 games against the Bruins, Caps, Flyers and Isles. Reinhart had zero points in five games versus the Isles and only one goal in 12 games against Boston and Philadelphia while Hall was shut out against the Bruins (three games,) had zero goals in three games vs Washington, and two goals in eight games vs. the Islanders and Flyers.

As we look to this year's edition of the Sabres, they sit at 4-6-2 having just lost two in a row against the NY Islanders by a combined 6-1 score, which includes an entire third period in the first game where they went without a shot on goal. That lone goal in the two-game series was scored by Victor Olofsson with Reinhart getting the secondary assist. Here's how it's gone for the team against the rest of the MassMutural East division so far and how Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner and Hall have fared:

Washington 1-2-1

Eichel: 0 goals, 4 assists (1 shootout winner)

Reinhart: 0 goals, 2 assists

Skinner: 0 goals, 1 assist

Hall: 1 goal, 2 assists

Philadelphia 1-1-0

Eichel:  0 goals, 3 assists

Reinhart:  2 goals, 0 assists

Skinner:  0 goals, 0 assists

Hall:  0 goals, 3 assists

NY Rangers 1-0-1

Eichel:  2 goals, 0 assists

Reinhart:  1 goal, 1 assists

Skinner:  0 goals, 0 assists

Hall:  0 goals, 1 assist

NJ Devils 1-1-0

Eichel:  0 goals, 2 assists (1 shootout winner)

Reinhart: 0 goals, 0 assists

Skinner:  0 goals, 0 assists

Hall:  0 goals, 2 assists

Eichel ($10M,) Skinner ($9M,) Hall ($8M) and Reinhart ($5.2M) combine for $32 million in salary for the Sabres while 'leading' the team to a 4-6-2 record. In 12 games they've combined for six goals and 28 points.

And Buffalo has yet to play the division-leading, 10-2-2, Boston Bruins who have given up the third-fewest goals in the league.

It's Deja vu all over again as the Sabres right now look like the Sabres of the post-Drury/Briere era

Former Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier was pretty much dead on when he was building his team for the "new NHL" prior to the 2004-05 lockout. He came out of that owner-imposed loss of a full season with a team that was poised to become the most exciting group of players in the NHL.

Regier came out of the Dominik Hasek/Michael Peca "hardest working team in hockey" era and began to build more with speed and skill as well as a focus on puck-movers on the blueline. Coming out to the lockout Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek,  Max Afinogenov, Tim Connolly, Derek Roy were either fast, skilled or a combination of both-up front while the defense had Brian Campbell, Teppo Numminen, Henrik Tallinder and Dmitri Kalinin who were noted for their skating and/or puck-moving and/or offensive abilities.

Having said that, the 2005-06 Buffalo Sabres also had some tenacity baked into the lineup with the likes of Mike Grier, JP Dumont, Jay McKee and Toni Lydman who could hold their place in the lineup while adding a ton of sandpaper to a team that had a lot of skill and finesse. That team was the surprise of the league that season and were it not for a rash of injuries on defense, they very well could have represented the east in the Stanley Cup Finals instead of the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat Buffalo in seven games in the conference finals and went on to win the Cup.

Three-game Sabres recap, Feb. 23-29

The sucking sound you hear is the wind going out of the Buffalo Sabres sails. Prior to Monday's trade deadline the Sabres posted two convincing wins and went into the break with a solid 7-3-1 record in the month of February which was enough to convince general manager Jason Botterill to reconfigure the roster a bit instead of moving pending UFA's for low-value futures. Anyone and everyone knew that the playoffs were a longshot for Buffalo but to his credit, Botterill rewarded his team for toughing out a difficult season full of inconsistencies by showing some faith in them.

Botterill's two acquisitions at the deadline--forwards Dominik Kahun and Wayne Simmonds--replaced two forwards moved out and were as advertised. Simmonds has had two starts for Buffalo while Kahun made his Sabres debut against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kahun made a quick impression as he scored on his second shift to give the Sabres the lead against Vegas. As for Simmonds, everyone and their brother knows that he's in the latter stages of a strong career and that his production is waning, but he does provide veteran leadership and an on-ice toughness that's sorely been lacking this season.

Should Sabres fans get excited about this recent stretch enough to get our hopes up?

Buffalo Sabres fans have been through this movie before. A team left for dead just past the midway point of the season makes a valiant run for the playoffs only to fall just short. It's nothing new. In fact this trend dates back to at least the Lindy Ruff years from 2007-2013. Ruff's Sabres generally struggled through the first half of the year only to make that run save for the 2009-10 season when they took the Northeast Division crown after being at near the top of the division the entire season. In the other years during that span Buffalo was in the middle to back of the pack and ended up finishing third in the division three times and fourth on one occasion. They closed out that span with a pre-tank fifth-place finish in 2012-13. In those six years they made the playoffs twice getting bounced in the first round both times.

We're now well into the 2020 portion of the season and once again the Sabres are in a position where they'll need to make a near miraculous run to get into the playoffs. Coming into the new year Buffalo found themselves in a tough position being five points out of third place in the Atlantic Division, eight points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. A 5-3-0 record prior to their "bye-week" and the All-Star break gave fans hope for the team as they would be coming out of the break with nine of 10 games at home.

Life without Jack Eichel proved pretty ugly for the Sabres last night

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-20-2019 I had an interesting little twitter exchange with a Leafs fan the other day after the Buffalo Sabres lost 5-3 at Toronto. It started with this tweet from Steve Kournianos of The Draft Analysis: "All I heard on the radio today was how Jack Eichel's better than Auston Matthews and he (Matthews) doesn't dominate games etc. Two goals against a surging division rival (Buffalo) and (now) one point out of 2nd place. Huge win. Huge Performance. You should try to give the kid some credit every now and again."

This Sabres team has proven itself worthy of a contribution by their GM

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-18-2019


With a 16-12-7 record, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres are on pace for about 91 points, which is above where many pundits thought they would be and far above where most Sabres cynics believed they could hope for. How Buffalo got to this point 35 games into the season is somewhat of a surprise as they started out hot, got ice cold and have been trudging and trending upward since he latter part of November. As of now they're second in the Atlantic Division with three games to go before the Christmas break and they're doing it with basically the same team they had last season when they finished 27th in the league. Unfortunately, Buffalo also carried over a glaring issue from last season, most notably an invisible middle-six forward group.

The top line is fine as long as they have Jack Eichel leading the way. To say he's taken his game to another level might be an understatement as the captain may have jumped two notches over the past month. Eichel is riding an impressive 17-game point-streak which is one game shy from tying a franchise record held by Sabres legend Gilbert Perreault. During his streak Eichel has tallied 16 goals and 15 assists and during this run he's not living off of the lone secondary assist to keep it going as he's had four multi-games and nine multi-point games. The last two games he scored the game-tying goal against the NY Islanders with less than two minutes remaining and last night in Toronto he scored to keep the game within reach.

Sabres are finding their stride, but they still need that piece

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-15-2019


Yesterday's matinee was a huge challenge for this edition of the Buffalo Sabres. They headed to Long Island, NY to face off against what might be the best defensive team in the National Hockey League. The NY Islanders are a disciplined, hard-working team that chokes off offense and jumps on opportunity when the opposition makes a mistake. Head coach Barry Trotz has his team playing exceptional hockey especially at home, whether it be Nassau Coliseum where they played the Sabres last night, or at Barclay Center in Brooklyn where they'll end up playing 20 of their home games.

The key is to success is getting the lead on the Islanders, something Buffalo failed to do yesterday. Just 5:11 into the game, New York's Michael Del Colle capitalized on an error in judgement by Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark and put the Islanders up 1-0. With a tired group of Buffalo skaters on the ice, Ullmark had an opportunity to cover the puck for a faceoff but decided to keep it in play. His attempted touch-pass to defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was picked off and in the blink of an eye it was behind him.

Wake up ya sleepyheads, there's a 1 p.m. matinee today

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-14-2019



Three wins in a row. That's what the Buffalo Sabres have going for them as they resume play today with a 1 p.m. game against the NY Islanders. Those three wins came against the Western Conference (at Edmonton, vs. St. Louis and Nashville) and they'll be facing off against an Islanders team that shut them out 1-0 in Buffalo on November 2. The loss against the Isles was loss No. 2 in a particularly rough November slide where they went 1-7-1 through the first three weeks.

However, since pulling off a solid win in Florida against the Panthers, Buffalo has put together a nice little streak that includes a 6-2-3 record, the three-game winning streak (their first since October 17-22,) and a four-game points-streak.

Speaking of streaks, the man behind the Sabres resurgence is their, Jack Eichel. The 23 yr. old Buffalo captain is riding a career-best 15-game points streak (14+13) and has scored two-goals in back-to-back games. During that span, beginning November 17, Eichel's 14 goals, 27 points and plus-18 rating leads the league. Through 33 game this season, Eichel has 22 goals (which is second in the league) and 46 points T-fifth.)

Only one blemish on an otherwise great Aud Night.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-13-2019


For those of us who remember the old Memorial Auditorium, seeing the old gold, red, blue and orange section motif brought back some fond memories. Props to the marketing department for draping color T-shirts over the seats to rekindle those memories.

My first memory came via my sister who took me to my first-ever game back in the early 70's. We had standing room only tickets and there was a wall up to that you had to get to fast so that you could see the ice. So up we ran on those ramps all the way to the top and we got ourselves parked on that wall next to the men's rest room. Included in that memory of basically looking straight down on the ice was the smell of cigarettes, stale beer and urine. For those of you looking for a Hallmark memory moment, sorry, that's the way it was and they lost to Vancouver that night as well. There were other memories, mostly of concerts and the treacherous stairs in the orange section during concerts where altered states was the norm from the mid-70's through the early 80's but last night was about hockey and it was Aud Night, a tribute to that grand old building's legacy.

About the only thing better for this particular night would have been for the Sabres to be squaring off against the Boston Bruins as nothing reminds me more of the old Aud than The Buffalo/Boston matchups featuring the French Connection going up against the Big, Bad Bruins. However, it the Sabres organization put on a good show and their hockey team followed it up with a solid 4-3 win in front of a very appreciative crowd at KeyBank Center.

Sabres get timely saves/goals and some puck-luck in win over STL

Published by hockeybuz.com, 12-11-2019


There was a string of games in November where nothing seemed to be going right for the Buffalo Sabres. It seemed as if the hockey gods were unhappy with them and in addition to struggles with head coach Ralph Krueger's designs, the Sabres seemed to be hitting an inordinate number of posts while pucks from the opposition were bouncing in from everywhere. Add it all up and you had a Sabres team that followed a 9-2-2 October with a 1-7-1 start to November.

Credit to the Buffalo players for straightening things out and taking care of what they could with Krueger's systems. Beginning with a 3-2 loss in Boston against the Bruins, they began to play the type of game that made them successful in October and they slowly began pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. Buffalo was still struggling in the win column but they were playing a consistent brand of hockey that eventually would lead to last night's 5-2 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues.

Quick notes in light of the Sabres 7-1 win over New Jersey

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-3-2019


Notes after Buffalo's 7-1 win last night:

--Jack Eichel remains in beast-mode as he extended his point-streak to 10 games just 2:46 into the game as he snuck one through while camping on Louis Domingue's doorstep. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen pinched in along the boards and sent a quick pass to Eichel who was left all alone in the crease. It was Eichel's ninth goal and 19th point during the streak which is just one shy of his career long from February 14-March 7, 2017. During that run Eichel potted five goals and 11 assists.

--Ristolainen has been playing very well lately and he extended his point-streak to three games with that assist. For years coaches have been saying that they'd like to cut down on Ristolainen's minutes and Sabres bench-boss Ralph Krueger finally began doing so. From 2015-16 up until the start of this season, "The Angry Finn" averaged 25:30 of ice-time/game which was sixth in the NHL during that span. Krueger began cutting into that this season with Ristolainen getting 23:54 ATOI (22nd in the NHL) up until a November 24 game in Florida where he, out of necessity, used 11 forwards and seven defenseman in a 5-2 win against the Panthers. Krueger hasn't deviated from that set-up since and with seven defensemen rotating in, Ristolainen's average time-on ice is 19:24/game which is less than Eichel (21:25) and Sam Reinhart (20:04) on the Sabres. In those six games the Sabres are 3-1-2 and Ristolainen's plus-5 rating is tied for third on the team behind Eichel (plus-9) and Jimmy Vesey (plus-7.)

A gutsy point + Sabres 2019-20 Individual Stats Leaders--November

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-1-2019


I was "Bruhed!" last night by a Sabres beat writer I respect for suggesting that the first goal let in by Buffalo Sabres netminder Carter Hutton against the Toronto Maple Leafs was a softie. Perhaps it was a matter of frustration on my part with the Sabres 2-1 loss that was decided by a definite softie let in by Carter in overtime. Or perhaps the first goal was indeed a goal that should have been stopped. Regardless, whatever way you cut it, the outcome was an extremely disappointing one.

Toronto's William Nylander opened the scoring at the 5:30 mark of the second period when he drove from the red line to the front of the net and his shot was deflected by Hutton over his shoulder as the Buffalo goalie tried to poke-check the puck in the blue paint. The score would remain 1-0 until Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen took the same route on a pinch-in from the point and slid one far-side past Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen 6:58 into the third period.

It's time to ride Linus Ullmark, more. Plus...

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-30-2019


Prior to the Buffalo Sabres road trip in Florida, some of what we'd like to see out of this team to help them turn it around centered around little steps. The Sabres had just come off what might have been their best game of the season in Boston but lost to the Bruins 3-2. Both Buffalo goals were scored by defensemen that game and it continued a bad trend that has been haunting the Sabres all month as secondary scoring from forwards through nine November games had almost dried up. Only three Sabres forwards outside the top line had goals (Jeff Skinner, Johan Larsson and Curtis Lazar, all with one each) in that span.

That has slowly begun to change as Zemgus Girgensons (two goals vs. Florida,) Jimmy Vesey (goals in now three consecutive games beginning in Tampa,) and Casey Mittelstadt (first goal in 17 games last night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs) have joined the usual suspects of Jack Eichel, Skinner, Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart in scoring goals. After beating the Leafs last night, the Sabres are 2-1-1 in their last four games and have lit the lamp 15 times, all by the forwards and all at even strength.

Even though the powerplay has been all but non-existent with only one goal all month (by Rasmus Ristolainen vs. Boston) in 35 opportunities (3.5%,) it is a good sign that the Sabres have been able to tally at even strength these past four games.

That was...interesting. Krueger is mad scientist in win over FLA

Publised by hockeybuzz.com, 11-25-2019


The lineup to begin last night's game in Florida against the Panthers was somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser to begin with as it featured 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Yes, we've seen it before and other teams have used it before, including the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, as mentioned by Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger post-game, but still, that set-up is a little difficult to wrap your hands around. Especially when you're accustomed to Krueger religiously sticking to his lines and pairings this season.

Last night, however, the hockey coach became a mad scientist after forward Evan Rodrigues went down with an injury during his first shift on the ice. Krueger did some juggling on the blueline to start the game as he tried to work in seven defensemen while double-shifting able bodies up front. But after Rodrigues went down he let it all hang out and rolled with various concoctions up front that were full of surprises, including defenseman Brandon Montour taking a regular shift at left wing.

"The way we play," said Krueger to the media after their 5-2 win, "it's about finding your role in the group. Sometimes d-men will be up in the front, forwards will be back and vice-versa. I think it's an easy style of play that you can step into that."

Sabres Notes

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-23-2019


There's not a Sabres writer out there who enjoys writing something akin to the following:  The Buffalo Sabres played an excellent game against the Boston Bruins and did everything but win. Buffalo outshot Boston 38-27 at TD Garden on Thursday night including a first period where they pumped 14 shots on goal before the Bruins registered their first shot (to a Bronx cheer from the home crowd) 12:11 into the game. The Sabres boasted a very robust 62.22% CF percentage with no individual player below 50% and totaled 69 shots directed at Boston goalie Tukka Rask (38 on-goal, 17 blocked, 14 missed) compared to the 44 shots (27+11+6) sent Linus Ullmark's way.

This was a game they should have won and would have won except for...Rask. The Boston netminder, and the game's deserved first star, stole one for the Bruins and the Sabres were left with this from defenseman Brandon Montour, "We played a little better," he said to the gathered media post game, "but in the end, it's another loss.

"We have to start winning some hockey games."

True dat.

Eichel-4 Sens-2. Plus, on the Rasmus Dahlin benching, Rasmus Asplund and more

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-17-2019


Jack Eichel has had some big games for the Sabres dating back to December 26, 2016 in Boston where as a rookie he led the charge (2 goals, 2 assists) in a come from behind 6-3 win against his hometown Bruins. the 23 yr. old Eichel has a had hat trick before and has had more four-point games before, which includes two already this year (both games 2+2.) However, he reached another level in last night's four-goal game in the Sabres 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. It's not just the fact that he scored four goals or that he outscored Ottawa himself, Eichel carried his team on his back when they needed it most.

The Sabres have been struggling since getting off to a torrid start to the season, came into the game on a six-game winless streak (0-4-2) and as a team couldn't beat Sens goalie Craig Anderson last night. It's a movie Buffalo hockey fans have seen over and over again for over a decade, one in which they played a team they could or should beat, but in the end were left to lament that they worked hard and had the chances but just couldn't finish and/or didn't have puck luck. For the Sabres other 17 skaters on the ice against last night, that part of the equation was true.

What those previous teams didn't have was a player like Eichel who has the skill-level to defy that scenario.

Lessons to learn.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-8-2019


The Columbus Blue Jackets did to Buffalo what the Sabres had done to the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils in their opening two games. Columbus harassed and pressured Buffalo from start to overtime finish in their 4-3 win and generally made life miserable for the visiting Sabres as they cut of passing lanes and used deft stickwork to throttle a previously high-flying Buffalo team.

Sabres captain Jack Eichel and his linemates Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson were held scoreless until Olofsson slapped home the game-tying goal with just 1:14 left on the clock with the goalie pulled and Buffalo on the powerplay. The 6-on-4 advantage came courtesy of a late faceoff violation on the Jackets' Boone Jenner as he used his hand to move the  puck on the draw. Olofsson set up in his spot on the left circle and slapped home a one-timer off a feed from Rasmus Dahlin for his third goal in as many games.

That was about it for Buffalo's top line as they could only muster a total of six shots on goal--one from Eichel, two from Reinhart and three from Olofsson--which wasn't bad considering the Sabres totaled only 18 shots the entire game. Columbus on the other hand peppered goalie Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark with 44 shots on goal, which was only two less than the Sabres allowed to the Penguins and Devils combined.

Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--C, Jack Eichel

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-23-2019


In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.


C--Jack Eichel
6'2" 200 lbs.
22 yrs. old
2015, 2nd-overall

Career Stats: 286 games | 101 goals | 158 assists | 259 points | -65


Not long after being hired by the Buffalo Sabres as their new head coach, Ralph Krueger jumped on a plane to Slovakia, host of the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Krueger flew over 4,000 miles to see and talk with two principle players of the Sabres who were competing in the tournament--Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart.

"It was a real natural conversation. We were both pleased at the end," Kruger told TSN's Darren Dreger back in May of his conversation with Eichel. "We could feel the common purpose that drives me here to the job and Jack to his daily job with the Sabres."