The kids are alright in Sabreland

It's taken a few weeks, but the Buffalo Sabres have gotten rid of the stench left by former head coach Ralph Krueger. The defensive, systemic load that Krueger shoveled for the entirety of his 97 games as Buffalo's bench boss has been sent to the incinerator of extreme ineptitude and has been replaced by a refreshing dose of speed and puck control with an emphasis on driving play and creating offense. 

And Sabreland couldn't be happier.

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.

Fortunate twists of fate keeps Sabres out of deep cap-trouble and may help in Sam Reinhart negotiations

The fates may have once again worked in favor of the Buffalo Sabres to keep their impending cap problems manageable as the effects of Covid-19 has put the National Hockey League, and all other sports, in a precarious situation. The NHL is slated to finish the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs in a bubble without fans to fulfill television obligations. Gate-receipts, a major source of income to the league, dried up and the NHL is trying to bring in whatever dollars they can. Finishing the season this way at least assures them of pro-rated television revenue. 

It's a situation that's having an adverse effect on the salary cap. The NHL and the NHL Players association have a lot of work to do when it comes to figuring out the logistics of the current salary cap and those of the 2020-21 season as well but right now in general terms, rumor has it that the cap will remain at it's present ceiling of $81.5 million for the next two seasons with a very modest increase into the mid $82 million range for 2022-23. A situation like this is forcing many teams with high payrolls and little, if any, cap wiggle room into a huge bind but won't have a daunting effect on the Buffalo Sabres as most of their roster consists of free agents. They have a projected $34 million in cap-space heading into the off season, according to CapFriendly.

However, that $34 million figure worsens a bit as 2019-20 performance bonuses come into play.

Buffalo was looking at cap-overages for this past season which the league will tack on as a penalty in 2020-21. Prior to the stoppage the Sabres may have had 2019-20 cap-overages totaling over $3 million, according to a piece from Joe Yerdon of The Athletic. Yerdon wrote that because the pandemic ended the regular season the Sabres saved $2 million in cap penalties as defenseman Rasmus Dahlin finished just outside the top-10 in assists by defensemen. Had he hit that mark, which was a definitely possibility, his bonus would have been $2 million. As is right now, Dahlin will receive a $850K bonus and fellow d-man Henri Jokiharju will get and extra $425K bringing the Sabres overage to $1.25 million which is slated to come off of next year's cap-ceiling as a penalty for going over. 

Although having a full $81.5 million to work with in 2020-21 would have been ideal, working with over $80 million is better than the possible $78.225 million had the season not come to it's early conclusion for Buffalo and Dahlin hit the mark. It's also the third time in the past 18 months that the Sabres have gotten lucky with their cap.

When former general manager Jason Botterill was hired by Buffalo in 2017, he was perceived as a salary-cap guru, among other things. Botterill had been in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization as an assistant to Jim Rutherford and amongst his tasks was trying to fill the roster around five players who took up about 50% of their cap space. In both 2015-16 and  2016-17 Botterill was at the forefront working through that situation and Pittsburgh wound up winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. However, his cap-acumen never really came to fruition in Buffalo, as we see by the cap-overage that new general manager Kevyn Adams inherited. 

Although he was saddled with some bad contracts when taking the job, Botterill did himself and the team no favors with some of his trades and signings. The optics of the Ryan O'Reilly trade were bad enough on the surface as Botterill traded away a player for a second-rate package that featured quantity over quality and the player he sent packing ended up helping the St. Louis Blues win their first-ever Cup while claiming the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. O'Reilly also won the Selke Award as the league's best two-way player that season.

Two of the players that Botterill got in return for O'Reilly were forwards Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka, a pair of mid-bottom roster forwards who combined for a cap-hit of $7.35 million (just $150K less than O'Reilly.) This was on top of the bloated cap-hits he inherited in Kyle Okposo and Zach Bogosian ($11.143M,) both of whom were also playing in the bottom of the roster, as well as two players Botterill traded for--Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella, who combined for $9.6 million. Add in that Jack Eichel was pulling in $10 million and former Carolina Hurricane Jeff Skinner at another $5.725 million and you had a 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres team that was headed towards a cap-overage.

But a funny thing happened while on the way to an impending cap-crunch, Berglund decided he'd had enough and walked away from the remaining three-plus years of his contract worth over $13 million. With Berglund's $3.85 million cap-hit off the books, the Sabres finished just $2.8 million under the cap. 

It was the second time under Botterill and then head coach Phil Housley that a player was disgruntled in Buffalo and ended up leaving. O'Reilly famously said he'd, "lost his love for the game" at locker cleanout in 2018, just before he was traded and less than a year later Berglund, who never recovered from being traded to Buffalo, walked away from that huge guaranteed contract. Fourteen months after Berglund's departure, Bogosian voiced his displeasure and was on his way out.

Bogosian came from the Winnipeg Jets in a blockbuster 2015 trade and after initially looking like he could be in the top-four or even a top defensive pairing for Buffalo, he faltered, mostly because of injury. In the six full seasons between the Sabres acquiring him and his departure, Bogosian played in only 249 of a possible 492 games or barely half the potential games all the while sucking $5.143 million/season away from the Sabres cap. 

As 2019-20 rolled around Bogosian once again would start the season on injured reserve and when he came back, he didn't feel as if he was getting a fair shake with head coach Ralph Krueger. After being a healthy scratch, he asked for a trade. Buffalo tried to trade him, then they put Bogosian on waivers, but nobody would touch him and his contract. After Bogosian failed to report to the Rochester Americans the Sabres suspended him before putting him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. His accumulated cap-hit for this season was $3.8 million saving Buffalo his remaining hit, about $1.3 million, in potential overages for 2019-20.

Although new GM Adams has the cap-overage against him this season, Covid-19 and the effects it's having on the league's revenue and salary structure over the estimated next three seasons comes into play when with the possible contract extension of Sam Reinhart.

The 2014 second-overall pick came off of his entry-level deal and signed what turned out to be a very team-friendly 2yr./$7.3 million deal in 2018 and proceeded to post the best numbers of his career with a combined 115 points (44+71) in 151 games (0.76 points/game.) At 24 yrs. old, and dependent upon how he plays it this off season,  Reinhart could either be on the road to unrestricted free agency in a couple of years or could cash in on a lucrative long-term deal, dependent upon what he and the Sabres want to do. 

As a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, if the proper deal didn't satisfy Reinhart and his agent, they could file for arbitration and take the one-year settlement. He could do that once again after the following season then become an unrestricted free agent in 2022-23. Covid-19 wreaking havoc has the potential to change everyone's thinking as social distancing could effect gate receipts next season with a domino effect making life difficult at least a couple years beyond that. Or at least that's what the NHL seems to be planning on.

Prior to the stoppage in play, the general thought on a Reinhart contract was that of a long-term, 6-8 yr. deal somewhere in the $7 million/season range. Now we're not so sure. With uncertainty hovering over the league, he and the Sabres might be better off with a 3-4 yr. deal and with the salary cap expected to be virtually flat for the next three seasons, a $6 million cap-hit might not be that far off. Reinhart could go the arbitration route, which is brutal for both player and team, and probably come away with that $6 million figure. He could do it again for 2021-22 and maybe come away with a little more or he could sign that 3-4 yr. deal and  he could hit unrestricted free agency smack-dab in the middle of his prime.

It's a situation that not only effects Reinhart but all free agents.

Three-game Sabres recap Jan. 14-18

Buffalo bench-boss Ralph Krueger and the Sabres, via general manager Jason Botterill prior to the Vegas Golden Knights game, said that the goal is to win two of three games for a playoff push. Going back to the beginning of 2020, the Sabres had 41 points in 41 games to start the new year and using the Krueger formula, garnering four points per three games would give them 52 points in 39 games for a 93-point total with two games left to play. One of those games is on the road against the New Jersey Devils with the season finale' coming at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, whom they could be battling for a playoff spot.

So far so good in 2020 as they went won two of three in the first three games and replicated it the next three. 

Dylan Cozens sent to Lethbridge (WHL,) Sabres top-six taking shape

Published by hockeybuzz,com, 9-26-2019


There was huge groundswell of emotion touting at least a nine-day trial-run for 2019 first round draft pick Dylan Cozens as he showed very well in training camp this year. However, it was for naught as the Buffalo Sabres announced today that the 18 yr. old center will be headed back to the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League to further his development in Canadian Junior.

At 6'3" 191 lbs., Cozens has a good NHL frame and he displayed some great skating ability and skills while throughout training camp. However, this is how Sabres head coach framed the decision while talking with the gathered media today (via John Vogl tweets):

"This decision today is about the development and future of an outstanding young man and athlete. It's maybe some pain for him at the moment, but there's a pace and there's an intensity to the National Hockey League season that we just didn't feel he was quite ready for. We believe he's going to come back and make a very hard push for being part of this team next year."

Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--RW, Sam Reinhart

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-25-2019


In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
RW--Sam Reinhart
23 yrs. old
6'1" 192 lbs.
2014, 2nd-overall

Career Stats: 331 games | 87 goals | 118 assists | 205 points | -54


Sam Reinhart was the first official player of the tank-era to be drafted by the Buffalo Sabres. The 2014 second-overall pick was selected out of the WHL as a center but through the years has found his way to a home on the wing and that's where he looks to be this year despite the Sabres lacking a more veteran-type, No. 2 pivot heading into the 2019-20 campaign.

Reinhart enjoyed a breakout season last year with 22 goals and 43 assists and unlike fellow second-overall pick Jack Eichel, who also enjoyed an increase in production of around 30%, the Vancouver, BC native may be close to settling in on an annual production rate. Having said that, being on a line with Eichel, who still has enough upside to approach triple-digits, and 40-goal scorer Jeff Skinner, as well as being on the No. 1 powerplay unit with those two makes for a very intriguing case that Reinhart could hit a point/game in any given season.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--F, Sam Reinhart

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-14-2019

Forward--Sam Reinhart 
DOB: November 6,1995 (age, 23)
Draft: 2014, 2nd overall
How acquired: Drafted by Buffalo

Last contract signed: September 19, 2018--2yr./$7.3 million

Final year of contract: 2019-20

2018-19 Stats:  82 games | 22 goals | 43 assists | 65 points | -10 | 18:57 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  331 games | 87 goals | 118 assists | 205 points | -54 | 17:21 ATOI

What we wrote preseason:   Reinhart played the final year of his entry-level deal in 2017-78 and did so in a bi-polar manner scoring only 11 points (5+6) through the 2017 portion of the schedule (38 games) before turning it on with 20 goals and 19 assist through the final 44 games. We know he has a high hockey IQ, displays deft stickwork and despite having average at best NHL speed he's shown that he ability keep up with a speedster like Jack Eichel using his smarts. We also know that despite being drafted as a center, Reinhart plays much better on the wing and also that much of his goal production has come on the powerplay. 

Most in Sabreland are pretty confident that the two sides will come together (on a contract,) most likely before the season starts, and when it happens Reinhart should be back on Eichel's wing. The two second-overall picks displayed a lot of chemistry prior to the start of last season when new head coach Phil Housley decided he wanted Reinhart at center. That was a huge blunder and when Reinhart was moved back to the wing (getting plenty of playing time with Eichel,) it lead to that stellar finish to the 2017-18 season for him. 

What we wrote mid-season:  He's been called the "Forgotten One" in these blogs on more than one occasion and even though he's on pace to put up career numbers again, Reinhart still doesn't seem to get full recognition for the skills he brings to the ice. Housley had moved him around a bit in the lineup but in a November 13 game against Tampa, Housley stuck with him on the Eichel/Skinner line and the trio has combined for 30 goals and 72 points over 20 games with Reinhart wielding a stat-line of six goals and 18 assists over that span. Although his skating is well behind that of his linemates, Reinhart is a very heady player who gets the puck where it needs to go and he's been a top-notch compliment to Buffalo's dynamic duo. Botterill re-signed Reinhart to a two year bridge deal this off season for a team friendly cap-hit of $3.65 million and it might be safe to say that we won't be seeing numbers remotely close to that with any new deal he signs.

Impressions on his play this year:  The probable reason he doesn't get due recognition in Sabreland is because he's not really a Buffalo guy--that rugged battler who carries Michael Peca lunchbox to the rink every day--nor does he have the elite physical talents of an Eichel. In addition, with the way the Buffalo fanbase seems to work he is, and will probably always be, behind the 8-ball in fan appreciation when compared to Leon Draisaitl who was drafted one spot behind Reinhart and who's putting up bigger and far-better numbers in Edmonton.

However, that's not Sam Reinhart. The scouting report on him featuring his uber-high hockey IQ and quiet effectiveness is just beginning to blossom. Reinhart should continue to impact play even after his production plateaus somewhere down the road and he has the type of game that will pay ascending dividends as his career progresses. Sure, like any other player, Reinhart was the beneficiary of playing on a line with Eichel, but he also had an impact on his own line. For a stretch in February he, fellow winger Conor Sheary and either rookie center Casey Mittelstadt or Evan Rodrigues were a legitimate trio with plenty of chemistry and production on display.

The two-year bridge contract Reinhart signed looks as if it will really benefit him as he and the Sabres look towards a long-term contract beginning this summer. 

Questions moving forward:  Can he continue to up his production? Where is his production plateau and when will he hit it? Is a point/game a reasonable career high? Can he carry a second line next year if the Sabres fail to add a legit No. 2 center? Can Buffalo get more out of him even strength? What will he and his agent be looking for contract-wise? 

Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Sabres singing the blues vs. Chicago

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-7-2019


A lot is being made of the Buffalo Sabres recent record in Chicago, as well it should. The Sabres haven't beaten the Blackhawks on the road in over 12 years and are only 2-6-2 in their last 10 games at United Center dating back to the pre-lockout 2003-04 season. Buffalo beat the 'Hawks 3-2 on December 3, 2003 then followed it up with another win (2-1) on January 10, 2007 in two seasons where Chicago finished 29th and 26th in the NHL, respectively. After that, it was all downhill for the Sabres.

The Blackhawks at the time were in the midst of a brutal transition beginning in 1997-98 where they finished third or worst in the division in 10 straight seasons and missed the playoffs in all but one of them. However, during those losing times they were able to build a future with a nucleus of Duncan Keith (2002, 54th-overall,) Jonathan Toews (2006, 3rd) and South Buffalo, NY native Patrick Kane (2007, 1st.) That trio would eventually lead Chicago to three Stanley Cup titles in six seasons (2010, 2013, 2015) with the first one breaking Cup-drought dating back to 1961.

Buffalo won two of three meetings from 2007-10 but since the Blackhawks broke their Cup-drought the Sabres have a 1-9-3 record, which includes a 12-game losing streak (0-9-3) from October, 2010 to December, 2017. In light of that record, which includes seven regulation losses in a row, the Sabres have tried to stem the tide of losing to Blackhawks in the post-tank/Jack Eichel era. Buffalo finally managed to get into the win column last March and have 1-3-3 record over the past seven meetings.  A win tonight would mean a series split for the second season in a row and although it might not look like much, its a start.

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.

Can you see the real me? Can ya? Can ya?

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-8-2019


Jack Eichel has been a model of leadership this season putting on a display of maturity both on and off the ice. As captain of the Buffalo Sabres, win or lose he's the go-to guy post-game to answer questions and on most occasions he's usually a good interview whether showing guarded enthusiasm after a win or contemplative assessment after a loss. With the Sabres doing a lot of losing as of late so perhaps it finally got to him.

Last season we saw a lot of losing as well, and a lot of Ryan O'Reilly post-game saying things like, "We have to be better," and "I have to be better," and "It's on me." It got to the point where you could almost grab any of his interviews from any prior loss and re-air it after the most recent loss. However, O'Reilly is gone, traded to the St. Louis Blues last summer, and as the unquestioned leader and captain of the team, Eichel is now in O'Reilly's shoes. And for maybe the first time this season, Eichel offered up O'Reilly-like answers after last night's 6-5 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

"I didn't play well tonight. It's starts with me so I've got to be better," was Eichel's curt response to the media's first question about a frustrating home-stand. We knew it would be a tough interview from the get-go when Eichel started out by saying to the gathered media, "You guys gonna look at me or you gonna ask questions? Anybody asking questions or [can] we get out of here?"

That's the frustrated Jack Eichel we saw on occasion last season when the franchise center and his team were on their way to a 64-point, last place finish. Every once in a while we'd see a post-game interview where he really didn't want to be there, much less want to talk, and his snippy responses seemed to come off as that of a petulant child berating those who dare ask him a question.

News flash, Jack, Being a captain is not all rainbows, unicorns and jujus and belittling the media because you're frustrated with yourself and the failures of your team does no one any good.

The 2yr./$7.3 million extension for Sam Reinhart is the right deal

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-19-2018


Perhaps Sam Reinhart and his agent looked at what the Washington Capitals gave forward Tom Wilson this off season and had visions of the Buffalo Sabres forward signing for similar money. Wilson signed a six-year deal with the Caps for an AAV of $5.166 million following a season where he scored 14 goals and 35 points in 78 regular season games.

In a tale of two Sam's, Reinhart's 2017 portion of last season had him at a pace that would produce far less than Wilson while in 2018 Reinhart was nearly a point/game player which far exceeded what Wilson produced. In the end the Sabres forward finished the last year of his entry-level deal with a nice, symmetric 25 goals and 25 assists in 82 games for Buffalo.

Maybe forgotten in all of this is that although Wilson never reached top-six status on the Capitals, he was one of their best players in the playoff season while helping Washington to their first-ever Stanley Cup. And at 24 yrs. old, he's just begun to hit the middle of his prime and still has a lot of tread on the tire.

Then again, maybe Reinhart and his agent looked at Buffalo's preseason game last night and liked what they saw. Center Jack Eichel showed a little rust but showed flashes of dominance that reverberates through the entire team. We saw 18 yr. old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin skating like the breeze and sending tape-to-tape passes with the poise of a veteran. Those were just two of the players Reinhart should be on the ice with this season but a holdout on his part prevented that.

Now he can join them.

The Buffalo Sabres announced that Reinhart signed a 2yr./$7.3 million dollar contract with the club. Reinhart, the second-overall pick in 2014, will make $3.55 million this year and $3.75 million in 2019-20.

At only 22 yrs. old Reinhart has a lot of upside but, unlike Wilson, we're really not sure who he is right now.

Reinhart was drafted as a center but was moved to wing by former head coach Dan Bylsma. He played extremely well there, especially alongside Eichel and was good for 40 goals and 49 assists in the two seasons Bylsma was head coach. New head coach Phil Housley liked the idea of Reinhart playing his natural position and moved him back to center last season. It was a disaster and he was moved back to wing. Beginning with the Winter Classic on New Year's Day, Reinhart went on a tear that would see him score 37 points in 38 games.

"Throughout the season you kind look for a spark," Reinhart told the press about the Winter Classic in hindsight weeks later, "and that’s probably the spot where you can look back and see things started turning around because I did feel good."

But there was more to it than that. At locker cleanout day he had this to say of his Saul-to-Paul transformation, "The biggest thing for me was, I wasn't happy with the way anything was going and I just said to myself, 'Screw it, I'm playing my game,." he told the gathered press that day. "I think it's more important for me to play my game, it's more beneficial to me and the team. I think it was important for me to get back to what I do best."

Although we're not sure whether "playing my game" meant him finding that game within himself and within coach Housley's system or whether it was a stealth deviation from Housley's system that got him going. Whatever it was, something clicked and one would think that he and his agent had the mindset that he'd passed through some threshold and was ready for a big contract.

However, it would seem as if Buffalo GM Jason Botterill and the Sabres brass thought differently.

Rumors of a stalemate with the Sabres offering $5 million and Reinhart wanting $6 million had many believing the end result would be somewhere within that range. But from a team perspective it never really made a lot of sense to pay that much to a player whom they weren't 100% sure about.

Reinhart has a lot of skill and much of his talent is subtle, but one of the big knocks on him is his speed. He has average to slightly above average skating ability and the main reason he was able to keep up with the likes of Eichel and to an extent Ryan O'Reilly was his smarts and vision. Reinhart is always a step or two ahead of the play and can either get to where he needs to go or get the puck to where it needs to go to play faster.

In addition, when he was drafted out of Kootenay of the Western Hockey League, Reinhart was seen more as a set-up guy from the middle but that didn't really transfer to the NHL. Bylsma put him in a position to succeed by putting him on the wing in more of a scorer's role while also putting him in front of the net on the powerplay. The result was a 23-goal rookie season. That would flip-flop next season as he scored only 17 goals but was good for 30 assists.

At two years, Reinhart will have plenty of time to show his worth and at the end of two years the Sabres will be out from under a couple of unfriendly contracts and will have begun to galvanize their core. Right now, CapFriendly has the Sabres with only six contracts for 2020-21 with Eichel, Kyle Okposo and Patrik Berglund up-front, Rasmus Ristolainen and Rasmus Dahlin on the back end and Carter Hutton in goal who combine for $25,340 million of cap dollars. Reinhart, Tage Thompson and Casey Mittelstadt will all be restricted free agents heading into that season and could represent a big chunk of change for the Sabres that year. Dahlin will be coming off of his entry-level deal the following year and will probably command a pretty big hit.

When all things are considered, a bridge deal of two years for Reinhart is appropriate and if you thought the low range of the deal was $5 million then Botterill got himself a helluva bargain, especially when you look at the deals handed out this summer. But really in looking at this earlier in the summer based upon Reinhart's young career in Buffalo, neither side should be unhappy with this short-term deal.

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--RW, Sam Reinhart*

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-28-2018


Sam Reinhart
22 yrs. old
6'1" 192 lbs.
2014, 2nd-overall

Career Stats:  249 games |  65 goals |  75 assists |  140 points |  -44

The asterisks besides forward Sam Reinhart's name is there because the restricted free agent and the Buffalo Sabres have yet to come to terms on a contract extension. Reinhart played the final year of his entry-level deal in 2017-78 and did so in a bi-polar manner scoring only 11 points (5+6) through the 2017 portion of the schedule (38 games) before turning it on with 20 goals and 19 assist through the final 44 games.

A Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type season is could very well be the main reason the two sides have yet to come together on a deal. Then again the unsigned restricted free agent list right now has some big names on it, most notably Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander who might be the best comparable for Reinhart. The 22 yr. old Nylander played on a playoff team with the Leafs last season and posted a stat-line of 20 goals and 40 assists in 81 games while Reinhart's totals were 25 goals and 25 assists also in 81 games on a last place team. However, Nylander had a plus-20 compared to Reinhart's minus-24 and over the course of his young NHL career the Leafs winger has posted 48 goals and 135 points in 185 games.

There is a huge difference in the players themselves, their style of play and the teams they've played for over their young careers, but a Nylander contract might set the tone for what Reinhart ultimately signs for.

It's strange to say this, especially since the Sabres are coming off of their third last place finish in five seasons, but the salary cap is an issue this season. Center Jack Eichel's $8 million cap-hit kicks in this season and despite moving on from Ryan O'Reilly and his $7.5 million AAV, the Sabres added both Patrick Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka from the O'Reilly trade to the St. Louis Blues at the cost of a $7.35 million cap-hit. In addition the cost of upgrading left wing added Jeff Skinner's $5.725 million and Conor Sheary's $3 million to this year's cap. As of now the Sabres are $6.5 million under the NHL's cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly.

No bid deal, right? Just sign Reinhart to a $5-6 million dollar deal and call it a day.

However, as The Athletic's John Vogl points out, complicating the cap for next season are possible max-bonuses for two players on the first year of their respective entry-level deals. If both Casey Mittelstad ($850K) and Rasmus Dahlin ($2.85M) reach their max performance bonuses it will add roughly $3.7 million to this year's cap. Any cap-overage this year is deducted from next year's cap.

The eventual Nylander contract and cap implications aside, we're still not sure exactly what we have in Reinhart. We know he has a high hockey IQ, displays deft stickwork and despite having average at best NHL speed he's shown that he ability keep up with a speedster like Eichel using his smarts. We also know that despite being drafted as center, Reinhart plays much better on the wing and also that much of his goal production has come on the powerplay. His 29 powerplay goals over the last three years were second only to O'Reilly's 31 on the team and Reinhart has the highest ration of powerplay goals to goals during that span. Evander Kane scored only eight of his 68 total goals on the powerplay.

Reinhart has proven durable thus far missing only six games in his NHL career, but he also was benched for an entire game in 2016 when former GM Tim Murray and former head coach Dan Bylsma sat him after supposedly being late for a team meeting. And we're also left to wonder what caused the switch to be turned on last season while also left to contemplate whether or not it will last.

Last year was a really weird year in that Reinhart, as mentioned, was invisible through the first 38 games but came on strong over the next 44 games leading up to his RFA status. A season like that also brought back memories of another winger, Drew Stafford, who put up a career-high 31 goals and 52 points in a contract year that landed him a rather hefty four-year deal. Stafford had a good follow up season but faded hard and fast before being traded in the final year of the deal.

Most in Sabreland are pretty confident that the two sides will come together, most likely before the season starts, and when it happens Reinhart should be back on Eichel's wing. The two second-overall picks displayed a lot of chemistry prior to the start of last season when new head coach Phil Housley decided he wanted Reinhart at center.  That was a huge blunder and when Reinhart was moved back to the wing and it lead to that stellar finish to the 2017-18 season for him.

If this contract dispute drags into the season, the Sabres are in pretty good shape on the right side. Kyle Okposo, who played well with NY Islanders center John Tavares, could start the season up top and there are a few young wingers who one would assume are chomping at the bit for the opportunity to play with Eichel. Tage Thompson came over in the O'Reilly deal and GM Jason Botterill promised him an opportunity in the top-six. Nicholas Baptiste and Justin Bailey have been plying their trade in Rochester and have the wheels to keep up with Eichel. And we could even throw 35 yr. old Jason Pominville into the mix as he had a robust start to last season playing in a top-six role.

There's no reason to think that Reinhart won't be signed prior to the season and hopefully before camp. If that comes to fruition, top-line right wing seems to be a role that has his name on it.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / Sam Reinhart

A look back at the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres season--March

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-17-2018


With the season gone, the Buffalo Sabres ambled into the month of March without their top left-winger, Evander Kane, and their top center, Jack Eichel. They were coming off of their best month of the season (6-6-2) and had played some pretty good games in the process. Buffalo took down the top two teams in the division, Tampa and Boston, two times each in February and that trend continued in March as they played some of their best game against some of the best teams in the league. They beat the Atlantic division's third place team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, twice and also came away with an impressive 7-4 win against the Predators in coach Phil Housley's return to Nashville.

Those three wins represented 60% of their five-win total for the month and their downward spiral continued as they went 5-8-1 in March which included a dreadful 1-4-1 six-game homestand which would drop them to the bottom of the league. Buffalo had an overall 2-6-1 record at KeyBank Center and other than their mini Stanley Cups against teams like the Leafs and Preds, there really wasn't much for the fans to get excited about. Even Eichel's return was met with cynicism as fans wanted to see him protected by having him shut down for the rest of the season.

Eichel told the media (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times) that's not how he rolls:

"It’s a pretty simple answer, to be honest with you, I’m playing because I’m a hockey player. It’s kind of ridiculous for somebody to think we’re out of the playoffs and we don’t have an opportunity to really do anything with our season that I would just pack my year in. It’s not who I am as a person, it’s not who I’ve ever been, it’s not who I am as a hockey player.

“At the end of the day, I love to play hockey. Whether we’re in first place or last place in the league, it doesn’t matter to me. I like to put my equipment on, go out there and play hockey. That’s why I’m playing. I love to play and I have a lot of fun doing it. It’s what I look most forward to in my day. There’s not really quite a feeling like it, so I enjoy it every day.

“I’m a competitor, I want to be out there competing. I want to play, so that’s why I’m playing. There should be a lot more questions asked if I decided I did want to pack it in, end my season."

While fans were debating the Eichel injury and beginning to dream about landing a franchise defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin at the draft, a series of events with huge ramifications was beginning to unfold.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers were on the precipice of making the NCAA tournament and needed one of six teams to lose in order to get into the post season. All six won meaning that their season was done in the middle of March leaving freshman center, and 2017 Sabres first round pick (eighth-overall) Casey Mittelstadt with a decision to make on his future.

Mittelstadt had an excellent season with 11 goals and 30 points in 34 games and showed signs of being ready for the NHL. He also wowed at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships which were held in Buffalo. His 11 points (4+7,) which included primary assists on all three USA goals in their shootout win over Team Canada at New Era Field, helped lead Team USA to a bronze medal and earned him Tournament MVP honors.

With Minnesota missing the post season and question marks surrounding the coaching staff, Mittelstadt decided to turn pro and he suited up for his first game as a Buffalo Sabre at home against the Detroit Red Wings on March 29. Mittelstadt would earn his first NHL point as he won a draw in the Wings zone and Evan Rodrigues would snap a shot home from the slot.

Mittelstadt would get points in five of the six games he played in, including his first NHL goal, and looked good in the process. The 6'1" 201 lb. center displayed deft stick work, solid skating and the ability to keep up with the speed of the NHL game. He was ready for full time NHL duty and because of it, the Sabres were able to trade No. 2 center Ryan O'Reilly in the off season to make room for him. Although there were other factors involved in the decision to trade O'Reilly and they did get some protection when they landed veteran center Patrick Berglund in the trade, the Sabres liked what they saw in Mittelstadt's six-game debut to the point where they felt the could make the move to youth now instead of later.

It was a long, cold season, just like the winter, and by the end of March most couldn't wait for it to be over. The Sabres were at the bottom of the standings, were last in goals/game (2.38,) last in goals against (3.31) and their -73 goal differential wasn't that far removed from the tank years.

Individually both O'Reilly and Sam Reinhart picked up the slack in Eichel's absence with Reinhart continuing his production surge that began with the Winter Classic on New Year's Day. Reinhart, who was downright awful in the 2017 portion of the season, had 14 points (9+4) in 14 games during March (including a hat trick) and matched his career highs in goals and points with four games still remaining.

There was light at the end of the tunnel as Mittelstadt was just the beginning of some good fortune rolling Buffalo's way. Not only would April mean the end of the season, but it also meant the NHL Draft Lottery and a shot at landing the first pick to select Dahlin.


For Buffalo's March team stats click here, for their individual stats leaders for the month click here.

For my March archive, click here.

A look back at the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres season--January

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-11-2018


January 1 is the start of a new year and universally represents the opportunity for a fresh start--new year, new outlook, new direction. If ever there was a case of a Buffalo player taking that to heart it was Sabres forward Sam Reinhart.

Reinhart, the second-overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, was downright abysmal in the 2017 portion of the season. He scored only 11 points (6g+5a) in 38 games and suffered two double-digit goal-less streaks, one of 10 games and the other 16 games which started in late November and lasted throughout the entire month of December. If anyone was in desperate need of a fresh start after laying a trail of zeros through much of the first half, it was him.

"I took a step back and obviously I wasn't happy with the way anything was going," said the 22 yr. old at locker cleanout as he began talking about his metamorphosis.

In the final 44 games of the season, Reinhart was on fire scoring 22 goals and adding 19 assists. Although he said confidence had something to do with it he elaborated on his transformation as he continued talking to the gathered media."I said to myself, 'I'm just going to play my game and not, you know...'" That's where he trailed off looking for the appropriate words leaving one to wonder if he was just about ready to maybe talk about the way he was being used and/or game-planning.

"You know I think it's more important for me to play my game," he continued. "It's more beneficial to me and the team for me to play my game and however that fits into the team...you know I think I just..."

Once again he trailed of looking for the appropriate words. "I don't want to say I said, 'screw it' but umm...I think it was important for me to get back to what I did best in the past and I think I was able to find a way to [figure out] how it fits into a team game and hopefully can start with that next year."

There is a lot going on in those words, especially when you take into consideration that the Sabres had managed only a 10-20-8 record through the first half of the season and there seemed to be  dissension and/or apathy rolling through the locker room of first-year head coach Phil Housley. Was Reinhart sincere in that his Saul to Paul transformation was a matter of taking his game into his own hands while fitting it into the system? Or did he say 'Screw it' to the game plan in a last gasp of self-preservation? After all, he was in the final year of his entry-level deal and if he continued on that 2017 pace, he'd be behind the eight-ball in negotiations.

Whatever the reason, Reinhart found his game.

The new year for the Sabres began with the 'Bright Lights/Big City' matchup against the NY Rangers on New Years Day. It was the 10th anniversary of the first Winter Classic which was held in Buffalo. On a sunny but very cold day the Sabres entered the second period down 2-0 but Reinhart found himself at home as he pounced on a rebound in the crease during a Sabres powerplay to make it 2-1.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen would tie the score early in the third but the Rangers would score mid-way through overtime on the powerplay for the 3-2 win.

Buffalo looked real solid in that game but it was back to their old ways as they dropped the next four in a row by a combined 21-10 score which included two pitiful performances at the Minnesota Wild (7-1) and at home vs. the Winnipeg Jets (7-4.)

After the Jets loss, frustrations began bubbling to the surface and spilling onto the ice. Housley, who'd been the nurturing mother goose to his gosling team called them out for what he called the "is our lack of respect and urgency playing defense," in his post-game presser as his players seemed to be more focused upon their individual numbers.

And at practice the next day, winger Evander Kane and defenseman Justin Falk got in a heated tête-à-tête. In an intense practice that saw Kane check defenseman Zach Bogosian into the boards hard, injuring him in the process, Falk was apparently working Kane over a little too hard in front of the net. Kane took issue with that and they had to be separated with Falk calling Kane "selfish" while using some flowery cuss words for accent.

Buffalo would go on to win the next game at home against Columbus, lose the next two, then sweep their western Canada road trip in grand fashion with back-to-back shutouts. The 5-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers and 4-0 win at Vancouver vs. the Canucks in the last two games of the swing were impressive, too bad most of Western New York hockey fans had lost interest and weren't awake when the final buzzers sounded after midnight.

Buffalo closed January with a 3-1 loss at home vs. New Jersey and finished the month 4-7-1 and a particularly lousy 1-3-1 record at home.

With the low-lights many and the highlights few the Sabres did, however, barrel towards to the trade deadline with some positives--the western Canada swing, Reinhart and Ristolainen's resurgence, Jack Eichel the All-Star, and some solid play from the future in defenseman Brendan Guhle and goalie Linus Ullmark. In addition, 2017 first round pick, Casey Mittelstadt shined at the World Junior Championship held in Buffalo. The eighth-overall pick was voted Most Valuable Player of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship as he lead Team USA to a bronze medal and tied for the tournament high with 11 points (4+7) in seven games.

Also in that tournament was Team Sweden's Rasmus Dahlin who was named top defenseman of the tournament.

Out of the ashes...



For Buffalo's January team stats, click here and for their individual stats leaders, click here.

For my January archive, click here.



Sam Reinhart's full interview at locker cleanout, 2018, via sabres.com:

Botterill qualified six RFA's. What's in store for them? Today, Sam Reinhart.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-8-2018


Late last month Sabres GM Jason Botterill qualified six Buffalo restricted free agents. According to the Buffalo News, these were the players, their salaries last season and their qualifying offers:

--F Justin Bailey $650,000/$715,000
--F Nick Baptiste $750,000/$787,500
--F Sean Malone $750,000/$787,500
--F Danny O’Regan $832,500/$874,125
--F Sam Reinhart $832,500/$874,125
--F C.J. Smith $832,500/$874,125

Today we look at F, Sam Reinhart.

Reinhart would be the logical choice to work on first as he is the player with the pedigree, draft position, NHL stats and highest upside of this group. The 2014 second-overall pick tied with Jack Eichel for the team-lead in goals last season (25) and in three full seasons with the Sabres averaged over 21 goals and 46 points while missing only six regular season games.

The questions surrounding Reinhart include whether or not head coach Phil Housley will continue to use him at wing in a top-six role and whether the second half of last season was a jumping off point to a breakout campaign or a case of lighting it up in a contract year. Reinhart finished off the season with 20 goals and 19 assists in 44 games beginning with the 2018 New Year's Day Winter Classic.

Although Reinhart was drafted as a center, former head coach Dan Bylsma used him on the wing while also putting him in front of the net on the powerplay and the rookie responded with a 23 goal, 42 points season. Things reversed the following season to more "Reinhart-like" stats as the crafty distributor tallied 17 goals and 30 assists. But under Housley things fell apart for Reinhart as the rookie head coach put him back at center and they changed up the powerplay, which had been No. 1 in the league the prior season.

A flustered Reinhart struggled but found himself in New York City under the bright lights of the Winter Classis. He told reporters after the season that he found himself and his game and that's why he was able to produce at a more than point-per-game this calendar year.

Yet the cynics in Buffalo, and make no mistake, their cynicism is warranted, will point to a player like Drew Stafford who loafed around for much of his contract years before reaching his potential in a contract-year. In looking at Reinhart's season, their question is, "Where the hell was this Sam when it counted?"

That, undoubtedly, will be one of the questions for his agent and that will probably be one of the main reasons that he only gets a bridge contract.

A 25-goal, 25-assist season as a 22 yr. old on a lousy team is nothing to sneeze at so it seems to reason that he'll be at least in the $3.5-4 million price range. Term may ultimately dictate what Reinhart ends up with but I don't think either side should be unhappy with a 3yr./$11 million deal.

Does Rasmus Dahlin change the Sabres' off-season equation?

Published by hockeybuzz.com. 5-4-2018


Heading into last week's NHL Draft Lottery, hockey insider Elliotte Friedman had a definitive take on what the last place Buffalo Sabres would be doing this off season. Prior to the pingpong balls falling Buffalo's way, it was expected that second-year GM Jason Botterill would overhaul his roster and here's what Friedman had to say, “I think they’re looking at tearing that team down right to the studs. And you know what? If they get Dahlin that makes it easier for them to do.”

Unlike the previous off season when he overhauled mostly the bottom portion of the lineup to the tune of nine different faces in the opening night lineup, an angry Botterill indicated that a continued overhaul may include some core players. "When you finish where we were," he said to the gathered media at his end of season presser, "you have to look at everything. That means looking at even changing up some of our core players."

Speculation as to who he meant immediately began swirling around Sabreland with those waves rippling through much of the NHL.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--F, Sam Reinhart

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-15-2018


Forward--Sam Reinhart
DOB: November 6,1995 (age, 22)
Draft: 2014, 2nd overall
How acquired: Drafted by Buffalo
Last contract signed: 2015--3yr. ELC; $925k/yr. + $2.65M yearly performance bonus
Final year of contract: 2017-18


2017-18- Stats:  82 games played | 25 goals | 25 assists | 50 points | -24 |  17:06 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  249 games | 65 goals | 75 assists | 140 points | -44 16:49 ATOI

Buffalo Sabres 2017-18 Individual Stats Leaders--March

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-2-2018


March was the month Sam Reinhart for the Buffalo Sabres. The 2014 second overall pick pretty much owned the month with 14 points (9+5) in 14 games punctuating that performance with a hat trick on the road vs. the league-leading Nashville Predators on Saturday night. Reinhart, who had been forgotten about since the drafting of Jack Eichel and was nearing "bust" status for some early in the season, has put it all together and matched his career high in goals and points with that performance against the Preds.

Other than that, Ryan O'Reilly continued his consistent numbers by posting a four-goal month to reach 20 goals for the third straight season in Buffalo and is now at 57 points on the season which is the fifth year in a row that he'll have reached 55 points or more.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen lead the team with eight assists on the month and with one more point in the last four games will hit the 40 point mark for the third straight season while Eichel's five assist night at Nashville propelled him to career highs in assists and points.

It was an inconsistent month for the Sabres as they finished with a 5-8-1 record for the month with a 3-2-0 road record with both of those losses being blowouts. They were awful at home going 2-6-1 and lost by three or more goals all six times including being shut out twice. In all the Sabres were outscored by a 52-33 which reeked havoc on individual plus/minus stats.

Benoit Pouliot lead the team in plus/minus with a plus one and was the only player on the team who appeared in seven or more games to be even or above. Behind him was Jason Pominville and Evan Rodrigues at minus-2 each. At the bottom of the team plus/minus stats was forward Scott Wilson who clocked in at a minus-9 followed by Eichel, Reinhart and defenseman Casey Nelson all of whom were a minus-8.

The goaltending was very poor for the most part although Chad Johnson managed a 4-3-0 mark for the month. However, the Sabres backup saw his goals-against average climb to 3.35 while his save percentage stayed the same at a very sub-par .896. Starter Robin Lehner had only one win on the month and saw his goals-against rise above three goals/game for the first time in his three seasons playing for the Sabres. And for him, that's how it might end as the 26 yr. old may have played his last game in Buffalo.

In March we also saw Pominville rise from the dead. The 35 yr. old veteran winger who is on his second tour in Buffalo got off to a hot start for the Sabres with 12 points (6+6) in his first 12 games. But, from November through February Pominville scored only 12 points (4+8) in his next 52 games while watching his plus/minus plummet from a plus-3 to a minus-15. Last month he managed three goals and four assists with all of those assists being of the primary variety and was one of the 'better' players as he only incurred a minus-2 rating for the month.

There are four more games left in the 2017-18 season. Tonight the Sabres play the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Center and Tuesday they finish the home portion of their program with a game against the 30th place Ottawa Senators. After that they close out the season in Florida with back-to-back against the Florida Panthers on Friday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.




Buffalo Sabres 2017-18 Individual Stats leaders:


Points

--October: Pominville, Kane, Eichel, 12; O'Reilly, 8
--November: Kane, 11; Okposo, 9; O'Reilly, 8
--December: Eichel, 16; Kane, 11; O'Reilly, 8
--January: Eichel, 14; Okposo, 12; Ristolainen, 11
--February: O'Reilly, 12; Reinhart, 10; Ristolainen, Rodrigues , 9
--March:  Reinhart, 14;  O'Reilly, 11;  Eichel, 9


 Goals

--October: Pominville, Kane, 6; Eichel, O'Reilly, 4
--November: Kane, 6; Pouliot, 4; Eichel, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, 3
--December: Eichel, 8; Kane, Okposo, 3; six with 2
--January: Eichel, Reinhart, 5; O'Reilly, 4; Okposo, 3
--February: O'Reilly, 5; Kane, Reinhart, Rodrigues, Wilson, 4; (three with 3)
--March:  Reinhart, 9;  O'Reilly, 4;  Eichel, Pominville, 3


 Powerplay Goals

--October: O'Reilly, 3; Pominville, Kane, Reinhart, 1
--November: O'Reilly, Pouliot, Reinhart, Okposo, 1
--December: Eichel, Kane, Pominville, Rodrigues, 1
--January: O'Reilly, Reinhart, 3; Okposo, 2
--February: O'Reilly, 4; Eichel, Kane, Pominville, Reinhart, Okposo, 1
--March:  Reinhart, 5;  O'Reilly, 3;  Pominville, Okposo, 1


Assists

--October: Eichel, 8 Pominville, Kane, 6
--November: Okposo, 6; Kane, O'Reilly, 5
--December: Eichel, Kane, 8; O'Reilly, 6; Scandella, 5
--January: Eichel, Okposo, Ristolainen, 9; O'Reilly, 6
--February: O'Reilly, 7; Reinhart, Okposo, Ristolainen, 6
--March: Ristolainen, 8;  O'Reilly, 7;  Eichel, 6


 Powerplay Assists

--October: Kane, Ristolainen, 2; six players with 1
--November: Kane, 3; Okposo, 2; three players with 1
--December: Eichel, Ristolainen, 2; Kane, Reinhart, Okposo, 1
--January: Eichel, 7; Ristolainen, 6; Okposo, 4
--February: Ristolainen, 6; Okposo, 5; O'Reilly, 3
--March:  Eichel, Ristolainen, 5;  O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, Rodrigues 2;     


 Primary Assists

--October: Eichel, 7; O'Reilly, Ristolainen, 4; Kane, Beaulieu, 2
--November: Eichel, 4; O'Reilly, Okposo, 3; four players with 2
--December: Eichel, Kane, O'Reilly, 5; Scandella, 3; McCabe, 2
--January: Okposo, 7; Eichel, O'Reilly, Ristolainen, Scandella, 3
--February: O'Reilly, 6; Reinhart, 5; Okposo, Larsson, Nelson, 3
--March:  Ristolainen, 6;  O'Reilly, 5;  Pominville, 4


 Plus/Minus

--October: Pominville, +3; Girgensons, Gorges, +1; Pouliot, even
--November: Reinhart, Nolan, Scandella, Antipin, even; Kane, Griffith, Gorges, -1
--December: O'Reilly, +2; Girgensons, Wilson, +1; Larsson, McCabe, even
--January: O'Reilly, +2, Ristolainen, Scandella, McCabe, even
--February: Scandella, +4; Pouliot, Reinhart, Nelson, +3; O'Reilly, +2
--March:  Pouliot, +1;  Pominville, Rodrigues, -2;  Ristolainen, Beaulieu, -3


 Plus/Minus (Bottom)

--October: O'Reilly, -9; Reinhart, -8; Okposo, -7
--November: O'Reilly, Larsson, -8; McCabe, -7; Beaulieu, -6
--December: Kane, Pominville, -7; Ristolainen, -6; Rodrigues, -5
--January: Girgensons, -7; Eichel, Beaulieu, Falk, -6
--February: Okposo, -10; Ristolainen, -6; Larsson, Wilson, Beaulieu, Antipin, -3
--March:  Wilson, -9;  Eichel, Reinhart, Nelson, -8;  O'Reilly, Larsson, Scandella, Falk -6


 Goalies (composite)

Robin Lehner
--October: 4-2-1; 2.78 GAA; .911 Sv%; 1 shutout
--November: 5-11-2; 2.92; . 906, 1
--December: 9-14-5; 2.74; .915; 1
--January: 11-19-6; 2.85; .912; 3
--February: 13-23-8; 2.95; .910; 3
--March:  14-26-9;  3.01;  .908;  3

 Chad Johnson
--October: 1-3-1; 4.06 GAA; .879 Sv%; 0 shutouts
--November: 1-4-2; 3.59; .885; 0
--December: 1-6-3; 3.78; .881; 0
--January: 2-8-3; 3.64; .884; 0
--February: 6-10-3; 3.18; .896; 0
--March:  10-13-3;  3.35; .896; 0

Linus Ullmark
--January: 1-0-0; 1.00 GAA; .978 Sv%; 0 shutouts
--March:  1-2-2;  2.00;  .935;  0

Visit from Las Vegas Golden Knights kicks off 6-game homestand for Sabres

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-10-2018


I would have put the word 'expansion' in the headline before the Las Vegas Golden Knights, but even though they are in their first year of existence, they hardly look the part of an expansion team. In fact, one could easily say that the Buffalo Sabres have looked much more like an expansion team this season.

The Golden Knights were on a tear through the first 3/4 of they year and are enjoying the best season ever by an expansion club. As we sit here on the 10th day of March, Vegas is still perched atop the Pacific Division with a 43-19-5 record and their 91 points are tied for second in the Western Conference. Golden Knights GM George McPhee assembled a team of "undesirables" from the expansion draft and with veteran head coach Gerrard Gallant calling the tune, this team has been winning.

The run that Vegas went on until their recent slump is that of a championship-caliber team which includes no losing month, a remarkable 11-1-1 run in December and a 13-game streak where they never lost in regulation (12-0-1.) Much has been made about a team consisting of players left unprotected, and therefore seemingly unwanted, by their former teams and they're being coached by one who was sent packing by his former team, the Florida Panthers, and literally was at the curb with his bag hailing a taxi cab after learning of his firing.

A lot of adrenaline has been flowing through this Vegas team this season and they've also been healthy through much of the campaign save for their goaltenders early in the season. Vegas took a minor step back lately as they went 1-3-1 before pulling out a 4-0 win at Detroit on Thursday and part of the reason for that mini-slump might be traced back to the injuries that have started to mount.

This is the NHL stretch-run and the Golden Knights went into Detroit for the third game of a five-game road trip without forward James Neal and defenseman Nate Schmidt, both of whom are in Las Vegas recovering from injuries. Reilly Smith, the team's second leading scorer suffered an injury in Columbus on Tuesday and the Golden Knights are also without forwards Oscar Lindberg and former Sabre Will Carrier, defenseman Luca Sbisa and backup goalie Malcolm Subban.

However, Vegas will face a Sabres' team today that has it's own issues. On the health side, forward Kyle Okposo was lost to a concussion suffered in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win at Ottawa. Okposo, who had concussion problems last season, joins an injury list that includes Jack Eichel, the team's leading scorer (out since Feb. 11,) and fellow Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues along with defensemen Jake McCabe and Zach Bogosian.

However the Sabres woes this season reach far beyond injuries of which there were many (241 man-games lost.) While the expansion Golden Knights were tearing it up through the first half of the season, the Sabres were wallowing near the bottom of the league with a 10-20-8 record through the 2017 portion. Within that record for Buffalo was a 5-4 overtime loss at Las Vegas back in October.

The Sabres have turned it around a bit in the 2018 portion of the program going 12-15-3 since Jan. 1 and are presently 8-6-2 in their last 16 games while playing 14 of them (save for five minutes of the game he was injured) without Eichel.

With their leading scorer out the Sabres have been using scoring by committee mainly lead by Sam "The Forgotten One" Reinhart. The third-year pro got off to an incredibly poor start but has picked it up since the calendar year changed. In his last 30 games, Reinhart has 12 goals and 15 assists and is a plus-1.

Forward Ryan O'Reilly has 13 points (3+10) in his last 13 games while defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has two goals and five assists in his last 10 games and has an even plus/minus rating. Fellow defenseman Marco Scandella has four goals in his last 10 games and is a plus-6. A quick reminder, the Sabres did not have a defenseman score a goal until McCabe did so on December 5, a full 28 games into the 2017-18 season.

All of that aside, in an interesting twist to the Sabres recent play, seven of their last eight wins are against Atlantic Division foes while five of their last six losses have come outside the division. Buffalo has been playing the Atlantic tough which includes a five-game win-streak against the division's top teams--Tampa, Boston and Toronto--but on the downside, they've been blown out in their last three losses by a combined 14-3 score. One of them was against Florida while the other two were against Calgary and Washington.

What might be even more disturbing is the Sabres' record during Kids Day, which happens to be the promotion their having for today's 1 pm matinee vs. Vegas. Buffalo has been downright abysmal in their last two on Kids Day's. The last one featured a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings which wasn't as close as the score might indicate and the one prior was a 7-1 debacle against the Dallas Stars back in January.

All of this bodes well for Vegas entering into today's game, but this Sabres team has been known to pull off some surprises.

Word from the rink is the Robin Lehner gets the start in goal for Buffalo.


*****

The only other time that the Golden Knights and Buffalo met was on October 17 in Las Vegas when backup goalie Chad Johnson was in net. O'Reilly opened the scoring then Vegas scored three unanswered goals before Buffalo answered with three of their own, the last of which came with :09 seconds to play as Evander Kane tied it. David Perron scored 3:52 in overtime to give the Golden Knights the win.

As mentioned earlier, Vegas has a number of injuries and some of those on the injury report for today's game were in on all five goals the last time these two teams met:

Smith--1g, 1a
Lindberg--1g
Neal--2a
Sbisa--1a