Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-1-2019
Lookout below!!!
That's the shout that accompanied the Buffalo Sabres tumble down the standings and when you look at their team stats, there's no question that they were worthy of their 3-8-3 record in the month of November and a drop from 3rd overall in the NHL standings to 20th.
Luckily there's plenty of time left in the season to correct some things and special teams need the most attention. The Sabres powerplay was one goal shy of being completely powerless through November as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored the lone goal on Buffalo's 37 opportunities. At one point very early in the season the Sabres couldn't be stopped and had the league's best powerplay but since then it took a dive to 17th as their conversion rate went from 29.8% at the end of October to 17.8% as of now. And their penalty kill, which wasn't anything to write home about to begin with, was pretty bad as well. Buffalo went from a 79.5% kill-rate, good for 20th in the league, to 74.7 which dropped them to 29th.
Showing posts with label Sabres 50th. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabres 50th. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Sabres news, notes and items of interest on NHL Draft day, 2019
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-21-2019
Housley hired by the Arizona Coyotes
Phil Housley's time in Buffalo was a train wreck with the final four-plus months of his tenure being an utter disaster. Housley's Sabres went 58-84-22 during his two seasons as Buffalo's head coach and he had a 10-game winning streak to his credit but other than that the team took a huge step backward.
The Sabres were the worst team in the league from November 29, the end of their streak, until the end of the season managing only 40 points in 57 games (16-33-8.) They went from first in the entire NHL to a 26th place finish and within that downward spiral they failed to win consecutive games from December 13 until the final two games of the season. Buffalo was also shut out three games in a row (for a franchise record 199:58) for the second consecutive season, the first NHL team since 1929 to have that dubious distinction.
The month of March was a particularly bad month as the Sabres went 2-12-2 with a pair of seven-game losing streaks with the latter stretching one game into April. In both instances Buffalo was threatening to do what no other team in NHL history had done--have a 10-game winning streak and 10-game losing streak in the same season.
Those are just the overall numbers. The fallout from Housley's tenure can be found in players like Patrik Berglund, who walked away from the game and over $12 million while in Buffalo. Berglund came over from St. Louis in the Ryan O'Reilly trade.
O'Reilly infamously said after the 2017-18 season (Housley's first as head coach) that he "lost his lover for the game at times" that season and was traded to the Blues. What followed was a remarkable run by St. Louis buoyed by the type of play O'Reilly was originally traded for. The Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup with O'Reilly winning the Conn Smythe and he added to his mantle of awards with the Selke Trophy.
Some coaches are better off as assistants and right now it looks as if Housley is that type of coach. He'll be doing in Arizona what he did for the Nashville Predators--activating the defense to become a force on the ice.
Too bad we wasted two seasons finding out that he wasn't a head coach.
Housley hired by the Arizona Coyotes
Phil Housley's time in Buffalo was a train wreck with the final four-plus months of his tenure being an utter disaster. Housley's Sabres went 58-84-22 during his two seasons as Buffalo's head coach and he had a 10-game winning streak to his credit but other than that the team took a huge step backward.
The Sabres were the worst team in the league from November 29, the end of their streak, until the end of the season managing only 40 points in 57 games (16-33-8.) They went from first in the entire NHL to a 26th place finish and within that downward spiral they failed to win consecutive games from December 13 until the final two games of the season. Buffalo was also shut out three games in a row (for a franchise record 199:58) for the second consecutive season, the first NHL team since 1929 to have that dubious distinction.
The month of March was a particularly bad month as the Sabres went 2-12-2 with a pair of seven-game losing streaks with the latter stretching one game into April. In both instances Buffalo was threatening to do what no other team in NHL history had done--have a 10-game winning streak and 10-game losing streak in the same season.
Those are just the overall numbers. The fallout from Housley's tenure can be found in players like Patrik Berglund, who walked away from the game and over $12 million while in Buffalo. Berglund came over from St. Louis in the Ryan O'Reilly trade.
O'Reilly infamously said after the 2017-18 season (Housley's first as head coach) that he "lost his lover for the game at times" that season and was traded to the Blues. What followed was a remarkable run by St. Louis buoyed by the type of play O'Reilly was originally traded for. The Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup with O'Reilly winning the Conn Smythe and he added to his mantle of awards with the Selke Trophy.
Some coaches are better off as assistants and right now it looks as if Housley is that type of coach. He'll be doing in Arizona what he did for the Nashville Predators--activating the defense to become a force on the ice.
Too bad we wasted two seasons finding out that he wasn't a head coach.
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