Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-9-2017
My, my, my.
Back in the early part of the season Buffalo's Jack Eichel was on the sidelines with a high-ankle sprain and wasn't even an afterthought in the national media. Edmonton's Connor McDavid was lighting it up, as he has and will for a once woe-begotten Oilers franchise, Toronto's trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander had the Leafs in a playoffs spot the year after their "tank with dignity" campaign and in Winnipeg, Jets rookie winger Patrick Laine was sniping his way to the top of the rookie scoring race.
Serious waves were being made by our neighbors to the north and happiness reigned supreme as a bevy of Canadian teams were looking like playoff contenders only a year removed from no Canadian team making the post season. And they were being lead by an impressive group of youngins.
Eichel will always play second fiddle to McDavid as he was selected second behind the phenom in what was dubbed the "McDavid Sweepstakes," which is reasonable. The two are different players with different skill sets and while McDavid showed he could take over a game on a regular basis in his injury-shortened rookie year, Eichel showed flashes of that in a somewhat choppy rookie season.
Matthews has serious skill and is stylistically more akin to McDavid. He had a brilliant four-goal opening night and leads the high-flying Leafs in scoring ahead of Marner who's second and Nylander who's fourth on the team. Laine is simply a stud in Winnipeg.
That's your grouping and at one point you'd read various pieces and comments concerning this group which had Eichel on the outside, even behind Marner and/or Nylander. Granted that usually came from Toronto fans lost in the euphoria of the Leafs quick rise, but it was out there none-the-less.
When Jack came back from injury he promptly registered a goal and assist and slowly rounded into form. However with the Sabres struggling mightily, his contributions to the team and his climb up the scoring chart went largely unnoticed outside of Buffalo. Nary aword came from the national media concerning Eichel until I pointed out last week that Sportsnet analyst Ray Ferraro put Eichel in his rightful spot amongst McDavid, Matthews and Laine while the Leafs were in Anaheim.
Since then Eichel registered three goals and two assists in three games and brought his season totals to 45 points (18+27) in 46 games and at .98 points/game he surpassed Matthews and tied Laine with both being behind McDavid. With that surge also came some well deserved attention for just how good a player he is.
However, all of a sudden there's a big concern over Eichel wasting away in Sabreland.
Eichel has big shoulders and he's carrying a big load while trying to lead the Sabres back to the playoffs for the first time in five years. It won't happen this year and even though most thought that the playoffs for Buffalo was an long-shot, "the tale of the story," according to Yahoo's Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski, "as it were, is that Jack Eichel is going to be on the outside of the playoffs as a freshman and a sophomore."
Sure, forget the fact that in his season preview Wyshynksi wrote this of the Sabres, "As much as we’re dying to see Jack Eichel play meaningful games and (GM) Tim Murray’s master plan show results, we just don’t think the Sabres are there yet." All of a sudden it's a concern on his part that Eichel won't be making the playoffs this season.
We appreciate that, Wysh and we also know all too well that, "what sucks for Eichel is that the Sabres are a rotten team," like you wrote earlier this week. But before we justify the part about things "suck(ing) for Eichel is that his peers are all leveling up while he’s idling," it should be pointed out that only the Connor McDavid-lead Edmonton Oilers look to be sure bets to make the playoffs. And lest we forget, this was an Oilers franchise that had not qualified for the playoffs since 2006, had three consecutive first-overall draft picks and another top-3 pick in the five years prior to landing the generational talent that is McDavid.
For all the hype Toronto's getting, they're just outside the playoffs and have some pretty good teams around them. Prior to their squeaking by with a 3-2 win over a Detroit Red Wings team that's worse than Buffalo, the Leafs were on an 0-2-3 skid. As for Laine and his Winnipeg Jets, a team that Wyshynski said "was still in the playoff mix," they've played one more game than the Sabres and have the same number of points.
Save us the concern.
It's not often where a team finishes dead last two consecutive seasons and is in the playoffs two years later so to imply that Eichel is wasting away in Sabreland is nothing more than click-bait. This season was in peril from the moment it started when Eichel went down the day before the first game and it's been a struggle ever since.
Jack Eichel's the man and one could safely assume that Murray's looking at locking him up to a long-term contract extension. The rest will play itself out beginning with the fate of coach Dan Bylsma and players like Evander Kane, Sam Reinhart and goalie Robin Lehner. Murray set himself up well with some big cap-space for next season and will gain even more if he moves some expensive dead weight.
Is there concern that they won't make the playoffs? Of course. Is Eichel languishing in Buffalo because of it? That makes for a nice headline (read: clickbait) but it's a little melodramatic for my taste buds.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Free falling.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-8-2017
It took all of 11 days for the Buffalo Sabres to completely extinguish any hope of making the post season this year. From the time the returned from their bye-week until last night Buffalo mustered a meager 1-4-2 record that effectively has them reaching for their golf clubs and scheduling their tee times.
No sense in getting up in arms over what's transpired over the course of this season, in hindsight there's simply no way in hell this team was going to make the playoffs, beginning with the injury to Jack Eichel. For 21 games the Sabres were without their superstar center and for 21 games the coaching staff tried to figure out a way to win without him, and Evander Kane who missed Games 2-11. Without Eichel in the lineup Buffalo went 7-9-5.
Say what you will about the defense and how much of a cluster-eff it was this season, but it really never had a chance, not when your presumed top-pairing defenseman misses most of camp because of the newly introduced World Cup of Hockey and then proceeds to incur a season altering tailbone/back injury. Dmitry Kulikov was a train wreck this season and with him being in and out of the lineup, he had very little chance of locking into Dan Bylsma's system on the fly.
And then there's Bylsma's system. What kind of system makes this team a disaster on defense and the worst 5v5 scoring team in the entire NHL? A system that has the team at 27-28-12 with Eichel almost at a point/game, Kane having a career season with 24 goals in 55 games, Rasmus Ristolainen on the precipice of a career year and a host of other either meeting or exceeding expectations.
The Sabres threw in the towel last night. They're cooked. They've given what they had to offer and they just couldn't overcome what was thrown against them during the course of the season. It is what it is. The Philadelphia Flyers won 6-3 in Buffalo as the Sabres constantly turned the puck over and then proceeded to skate around like they had no idea how to defend. It's not even worth getting into individually as everyone from Robin Lehner to the skaters in front of him seemed to go through the motions.
It was the first time all season Buffalo allowed six goals in a game.
Those who predicted this happening will feel vindicated, tossing numbers around like confetti, while those who thought the Sabres could've and should've done more will simply have to resign themselves to the fact that GM Tim Murray's got himself a mess on his hands.
You can pick apart the defense with much credence, but then again, support from the forward group was lacking much of the time. You can say that they just don't have enough talent, but if one looks at the individual stats, some of which were mentioned above, there's a lot of talent on this team. Some may point to goaltending and there's reason to believe that inconsistencies as well as a dearth of shootout acumen played a big role in the situation they now find themselves in.
What it comes down to is coaching. WGR has it's poll up and it's fitting: Is it time for the Sabres to move on from Dan Bylsma?
Based on the game last night, it looks as if he might be done in Buffalo. The wheels came off at the worst time. Since they inched ever so close with a win vs. St. Louis on February 18, this is the answer they came up with a 1-5-2 record and included in that record are third period breakdowns where they gave up three goals against Arizona and lost, a two-goal lead to Nashville (OT loss,) a one goal lead to Tampa Bay (SO loss) and a one-goal lead to Pittsburgh (loss) when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
That's unacceptable.
And we'll see how far this free fall goes before heads are gonna roll.
It took all of 11 days for the Buffalo Sabres to completely extinguish any hope of making the post season this year. From the time the returned from their bye-week until last night Buffalo mustered a meager 1-4-2 record that effectively has them reaching for their golf clubs and scheduling their tee times.
No sense in getting up in arms over what's transpired over the course of this season, in hindsight there's simply no way in hell this team was going to make the playoffs, beginning with the injury to Jack Eichel. For 21 games the Sabres were without their superstar center and for 21 games the coaching staff tried to figure out a way to win without him, and Evander Kane who missed Games 2-11. Without Eichel in the lineup Buffalo went 7-9-5.
Say what you will about the defense and how much of a cluster-eff it was this season, but it really never had a chance, not when your presumed top-pairing defenseman misses most of camp because of the newly introduced World Cup of Hockey and then proceeds to incur a season altering tailbone/back injury. Dmitry Kulikov was a train wreck this season and with him being in and out of the lineup, he had very little chance of locking into Dan Bylsma's system on the fly.
And then there's Bylsma's system. What kind of system makes this team a disaster on defense and the worst 5v5 scoring team in the entire NHL? A system that has the team at 27-28-12 with Eichel almost at a point/game, Kane having a career season with 24 goals in 55 games, Rasmus Ristolainen on the precipice of a career year and a host of other either meeting or exceeding expectations.
The Sabres threw in the towel last night. They're cooked. They've given what they had to offer and they just couldn't overcome what was thrown against them during the course of the season. It is what it is. The Philadelphia Flyers won 6-3 in Buffalo as the Sabres constantly turned the puck over and then proceeded to skate around like they had no idea how to defend. It's not even worth getting into individually as everyone from Robin Lehner to the skaters in front of him seemed to go through the motions.
It was the first time all season Buffalo allowed six goals in a game.
Those who predicted this happening will feel vindicated, tossing numbers around like confetti, while those who thought the Sabres could've and should've done more will simply have to resign themselves to the fact that GM Tim Murray's got himself a mess on his hands.
You can pick apart the defense with much credence, but then again, support from the forward group was lacking much of the time. You can say that they just don't have enough talent, but if one looks at the individual stats, some of which were mentioned above, there's a lot of talent on this team. Some may point to goaltending and there's reason to believe that inconsistencies as well as a dearth of shootout acumen played a big role in the situation they now find themselves in.
What it comes down to is coaching. WGR has it's poll up and it's fitting: Is it time for the Sabres to move on from Dan Bylsma?
Based on the game last night, it looks as if he might be done in Buffalo. The wheels came off at the worst time. Since they inched ever so close with a win vs. St. Louis on February 18, this is the answer they came up with a 1-5-2 record and included in that record are third period breakdowns where they gave up three goals against Arizona and lost, a two-goal lead to Nashville (OT loss,) a one goal lead to Tampa Bay (SO loss) and a one-goal lead to Pittsburgh (loss) when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
That's unacceptable.
And we'll see how far this free fall goes before heads are gonna roll.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Game night, Flyers come to town on NBCSN
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-7-2017
"I’m hoping that we’ve had enough pain and enough anguish to maybe turn a corner in learning how to play and win these hockey games."
The above quote came from the lips of Buffalo head coach Dan Bylsma who was talking to the Buffalo media about a Sabres team that has blown three third period lead over the course of the last seven games. During that stretch a team that was thought to be in a position to make a playoff push sits in it's usual spot at the bottom of a pack of teams where only one can hope to get in. The record itself, 1-4-2, is brutal enough, but when you have Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News writing that "the players looked battered and sounded defeated," well, that doesn't bode well for the final 16 games.
Tonight the Sabres face a Flyers team that's only two points ahead of them in the standings and the last time these two teams met, Buffalo came out on top 4-1. That was back on January 10 when the Sabres were on a four-game points streak (3-0-1.) Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 lead for the second time against the Flyers but this time they held on for the win. Back in October, which was pretty much a harbinger of things to come, the Sabres went into the third period with a 3-0 then proceeded to allow three unanswered goals (all with Philly on the powerplay) and ended up losing in the shootout, which is another familiar scenario this season as the Sabres are 1-6 in the skills competition.
A 1-4-2 spiral, especially when it matters most, tends to put a damper on any enthusiasm remaining in Sabreland but there are some brightspots.
Jack Eichel has been sensational as of late with 21 points in his last 16 games. "Jack Flash" is on a 10-game points streak (3g + 10a) and is only two points behind Ryan O'Reilly (44 pts.) for the team scoring lead. Evander Kane continues to light the lamp at a pace that could see him hit 30 goals on the season. Both Eichel and Kane have been offensive juggernauts for the Sabres and according to a Paul Hamilton retweet from Bucci Mane, since January 24 Eichel is tied with Jamie Benn (DAL) for most points scored (23) while Kane has notched 11 goals.
Bylsma told the gathered media this morning that Robin Lehner will be back between the pipes this evening. Lehner's sporting an 18-18-8 record with 2.59 GAA and .922 Sv%.
And according to Jourdon LaBarber of sabres.com, these were the lines at the morning skate:
Kane-O'Reilly-Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno-Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Nicolas Deslauriers-Zemgus Girgensons-Tyler Ennis
Matt Moulson-Evan Rodrigues-Justin Bailey
Because it's an NBCSN game, start time will be 7:30 p.m.
Games of interest tonight:
New Jersey @ Columbus
Detroit @ Toronto
NY Rangers @ Florida
Carolina @ Colorado
NY Islanders @ Edmonton
"I’m hoping that we’ve had enough pain and enough anguish to maybe turn a corner in learning how to play and win these hockey games."
The above quote came from the lips of Buffalo head coach Dan Bylsma who was talking to the Buffalo media about a Sabres team that has blown three third period lead over the course of the last seven games. During that stretch a team that was thought to be in a position to make a playoff push sits in it's usual spot at the bottom of a pack of teams where only one can hope to get in. The record itself, 1-4-2, is brutal enough, but when you have Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News writing that "the players looked battered and sounded defeated," well, that doesn't bode well for the final 16 games.
Tonight the Sabres face a Flyers team that's only two points ahead of them in the standings and the last time these two teams met, Buffalo came out on top 4-1. That was back on January 10 when the Sabres were on a four-game points streak (3-0-1.) Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 lead for the second time against the Flyers but this time they held on for the win. Back in October, which was pretty much a harbinger of things to come, the Sabres went into the third period with a 3-0 then proceeded to allow three unanswered goals (all with Philly on the powerplay) and ended up losing in the shootout, which is another familiar scenario this season as the Sabres are 1-6 in the skills competition.
A 1-4-2 spiral, especially when it matters most, tends to put a damper on any enthusiasm remaining in Sabreland but there are some brightspots.
Jack Eichel has been sensational as of late with 21 points in his last 16 games. "Jack Flash" is on a 10-game points streak (3g + 10a) and is only two points behind Ryan O'Reilly (44 pts.) for the team scoring lead. Evander Kane continues to light the lamp at a pace that could see him hit 30 goals on the season. Both Eichel and Kane have been offensive juggernauts for the Sabres and according to a Paul Hamilton retweet from Bucci Mane, since January 24 Eichel is tied with Jamie Benn (DAL) for most points scored (23) while Kane has notched 11 goals.
Bylsma told the gathered media this morning that Robin Lehner will be back between the pipes this evening. Lehner's sporting an 18-18-8 record with 2.59 GAA and .922 Sv%.
And according to Jourdon LaBarber of sabres.com, these were the lines at the morning skate:
Kane-O'Reilly-Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno-Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Nicolas Deslauriers-Zemgus Girgensons-Tyler Ennis
Matt Moulson-Evan Rodrigues-Justin Bailey
Because it's an NBCSN game, start time will be 7:30 p.m.
Games of interest tonight:
New Jersey @ Columbus
Detroit @ Toronto
NY Rangers @ Florida
Carolina @ Colorado
NY Islanders @ Edmonton
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Ya gotta hand it to Robin Lehner...
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-5-2017
Win or lose, for the most part Sabres goalie Robin Lehner will be in the locker room post-game taking questions. In a win he'll direct praise towards his team mates while in a loss he'll direct the blame mostly towards himself. In fact there's only one time recently were he exploded in a loss and directed most of his ire towards his team mates. The team responded with a three-game winning streak but typically followed that up with a four-game winless streak.
Lehner is the clear-cut No. 1 goalie in Buffalo. With him in net the team always has a chance to win the game. That is, until we get past regulation and the 3-on-3 overtime session for the shootout. The Sabres have been avoiding the shootout since a December 20 loss to the Florida Panthers. In between Buffalo has gone to overtime seven times and come away with a 4-0-3 record. With the loss last night they're now 1-6 in the skills competition.
The shootout stats are just mind-boggling for Lehner and they're not much better for Buffalo's shooters either. In fact Buffalo's shooters have the third worst shooting percentage in the league (17.6%) scoring only three goals on 17 attempts. Last night Sam Reinhart got confused and couldn't even get a shot off while Jack Eichel came up with an average at best attempt. Reinhart was one of only two Sabres players to score in the shootout this year, the other being Cal O'Reilly who's in Rochester. All the rest, which includes Eichel (2 attempts,) Kyle Okposo (5,) Ryan O'Reilly (2,) and Brian Gionta (1) have come up empty.
Perhaps the shooters are feeling extra pressure because the Sabres netminders have the worst save percentage in the league at .250. Buffalo backup Anders Nilsson, who has the team's only shootout win this year, has stopped four of eight shootout attempts while Lehner hasn't stopped any shot in eight attempts.
And that's the crazy part of it. Eight goals-against on eight shots with not one player either mishandling the puck, shooting wide or ever so slightly missing his spot. Every shot against Lehner goes where it's intended to go.
Last night Lehner was the victim of a brilliant shot by Tampa's Brayden Point on the first shootout attempt as the rookie, who came into the game scoring on four of six attempts, went low glove-side for the goal. After Eichel was stymied at the other end, the Lightning's Nikita Kucherov pulled off some wizardry as he got the puck moving towards the net and faked as if he was going backhand. The puck, moving like a curling stone, continued on it's slow trajectory towards the net and with Lehner following Kucherov looking for a backhand, it went five hole as Lehner looked to the sky in disbelief.
Check it out via Samboke on YouTube:
That's a filthy goal and it's tough being on the wrong end of it.
It will end sometime as the odds will eventually catch up, but until then it's frustrating and probably embarrassing for Lehner. You can tell he hates that portion of the game, "It's not hockey you're watching," he told the gathered media post-game, "they've got all the time in the world to go fast or slow down. On breakaways they come at one speed. Maybe I have problems adjusting to the speed changes.
"It is what is."
Lehner can take this to heart, once the team eventually makes it into the playoffs, there will be no shootout and no need to worry about it. Unfortunately, in order to get to the post season a team must win in the regular season and shootouts, as we know, are a big part of that.
*****
The Sabres are in Pittsburgh tonight to take on the Penguins at 5 p.m. on an NHL Network televised game. No word on who will be in goal for Buffalo but perhaps Nilsson gets the start this evening.
In their only meeting of the season, Nilsson stopped 46 shots in regulation and overtime then stymied Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in the shootout to help the Sabres get out from under the weight of a three-game losing streak.
Win or lose, for the most part Sabres goalie Robin Lehner will be in the locker room post-game taking questions. In a win he'll direct praise towards his team mates while in a loss he'll direct the blame mostly towards himself. In fact there's only one time recently were he exploded in a loss and directed most of his ire towards his team mates. The team responded with a three-game winning streak but typically followed that up with a four-game winless streak.
Lehner is the clear-cut No. 1 goalie in Buffalo. With him in net the team always has a chance to win the game. That is, until we get past regulation and the 3-on-3 overtime session for the shootout. The Sabres have been avoiding the shootout since a December 20 loss to the Florida Panthers. In between Buffalo has gone to overtime seven times and come away with a 4-0-3 record. With the loss last night they're now 1-6 in the skills competition.
The shootout stats are just mind-boggling for Lehner and they're not much better for Buffalo's shooters either. In fact Buffalo's shooters have the third worst shooting percentage in the league (17.6%) scoring only three goals on 17 attempts. Last night Sam Reinhart got confused and couldn't even get a shot off while Jack Eichel came up with an average at best attempt. Reinhart was one of only two Sabres players to score in the shootout this year, the other being Cal O'Reilly who's in Rochester. All the rest, which includes Eichel (2 attempts,) Kyle Okposo (5,) Ryan O'Reilly (2,) and Brian Gionta (1) have come up empty.
Perhaps the shooters are feeling extra pressure because the Sabres netminders have the worst save percentage in the league at .250. Buffalo backup Anders Nilsson, who has the team's only shootout win this year, has stopped four of eight shootout attempts while Lehner hasn't stopped any shot in eight attempts.
And that's the crazy part of it. Eight goals-against on eight shots with not one player either mishandling the puck, shooting wide or ever so slightly missing his spot. Every shot against Lehner goes where it's intended to go.
Last night Lehner was the victim of a brilliant shot by Tampa's Brayden Point on the first shootout attempt as the rookie, who came into the game scoring on four of six attempts, went low glove-side for the goal. After Eichel was stymied at the other end, the Lightning's Nikita Kucherov pulled off some wizardry as he got the puck moving towards the net and faked as if he was going backhand. The puck, moving like a curling stone, continued on it's slow trajectory towards the net and with Lehner following Kucherov looking for a backhand, it went five hole as Lehner looked to the sky in disbelief.
Check it out via Samboke on YouTube:
That's a filthy goal and it's tough being on the wrong end of it.
It will end sometime as the odds will eventually catch up, but until then it's frustrating and probably embarrassing for Lehner. You can tell he hates that portion of the game, "It's not hockey you're watching," he told the gathered media post-game, "they've got all the time in the world to go fast or slow down. On breakaways they come at one speed. Maybe I have problems adjusting to the speed changes.
"It is what is."
Lehner can take this to heart, once the team eventually makes it into the playoffs, there will be no shootout and no need to worry about it. Unfortunately, in order to get to the post season a team must win in the regular season and shootouts, as we know, are a big part of that.
*****
The Sabres are in Pittsburgh tonight to take on the Penguins at 5 p.m. on an NHL Network televised game. No word on who will be in goal for Buffalo but perhaps Nilsson gets the start this evening.
In their only meeting of the season, Nilsson stopped 46 shots in regulation and overtime then stymied Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in the shootout to help the Sabres get out from under the weight of a three-game losing streak.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Opportunity knocks again for the Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-4-2017
We've seen this a few times before. There sits a team directly in front of Buffalo and a playoff spot. They meet head-to-head in a "four point game." Sure, coach Babcock, you only get two points for a win, but in preventing the other team from getting two points means it's a four-point swing.
Tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town fresh off a 5-2 defeat last night in Pittsburgh. That's good news for the Sabres as the Lightning remained only one point ahead of Buffalo in the standings while burning up one of their two games in hand on the Sabres. A regulation win by Buffalo puts them ahead of Tampa by one point whereas a regulation loss puts them behind by three points. Of course the "loser point" could come into play in which the Sabres would remain behind Tampa no matter who gets the extra point.
It's a broken record but it should be repeated. The Sabres had an opportunity back in December with games against divisional/conference foes and came up woefully short going 1-4. In January they dropped three of four with losses to Tampa, Carolina and Toronto.
However, since those losses the Sabres are 5-1-0 within the Atlantic Division, 5-2-1 in the Eastern Conference. If we can glean anything positive from a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) around their bye week, it was that those losses all came against the Western Conference.
All of Buffalo's remaining games save for a three-game Western Coast swing (SJS, ANA, LAK) are within the Eastern Conference--eight games within the division and seven more vs. the Metropolitan Division.
The Sabres have only four games this month against teams that they're battling for a playoff spot with--Tampa Bay tonight, Philadelphia (March 7,) Toronto (March 25) and Florida (March 27.) The rest of the month includes the aforementioned West Coast road trip, three games vs. Columbus, two vs. Pittsburgh and one against Detroit.
However, it all begins tonight for Buffalo against a team they've been having all sorts of trouble against.
Last year the Sabres faced Tampa, who were the defending Eastern Conference Champions, four times within the first 15 games of the season with Tampa taking the first three games by a combined 10-3 score. Perhaps the Lightning were tired of beating the Sabres and in the final game of the season series Buffalo prevailed 4-1.
That win last year against the Lightning was right in the middle of a four-game point-streak back in November, 2015. Buffalo would match that point-streak four more times last season and do it twice this season. However, they've not been able to surpass that which is one of the reasons they're stuck near the bottom of a clump of teams fighting for their playoff lives.
This season the Tampa has beaten Buffalo both times by a combined 8-3 score with only Cody Franson (powerplay,) Matt Moulson and Evander Kane lighting the lamp for the Sabres.
With RW Kyle Okposo out of the lineup, head coach Dan Bylsma did a little line shuffling at practice yesterday. According to sarbes.com these were the lines:
Evander Kane-Ryan O'Reilly-Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Tyler Ennis-Evan Rodrigues-Matt Moulson
Nicolas Deslauriers-Zemgus Girgensons-Justin Bailey
And according to WGR550's Paul Hamilton, goalie Robin Lehner is taking part in today's optional skate.
Hamilton also said that the word on Okposo is cracked ribs and he'll be week-to-week. It should be noted that Kane cracked his ribs in the opening game of the season, missed 11 games and it took another 10 games for him to feel like himself again.
*****
There's been a lot of talk in the NHL concerning and impressive group of youngins that are setting the league on fire. At the top of the list, no doubt, is Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid who, at the age of 20, leads the league with 72 points (21g + 51a.) Next on the most revered list is Toronto's Auston Matthews who sent Leaf Nation into a tizzy with a four-goal NHL debut and is presently tied for the lead in rookie goals with 31.
The other rookie with 31 goals is Winnipeg's Patrick Laine who leads the rooks in scoring with 56 points, one point ahead of Matthews. Behind those two on the rookie scoring list are a couple of pretty talented Maple Leafs in Mitch Marner (50 Points) and William Nylander (45.)
Lost in all of this is Buffalo's Jack Eichel, who spent the first 21 games of the season on IR with a high-ankle sprain.
Highly touted as a player ever so slightly below McDavid at the 2015 draft, Eichel had an inconsistent rookie campaign last season but still managed to finish second to 24 yr. old Chicago Blackhawks rookie Artemi Panarin in scoring. With Matthews debut, McDavid's dominance, the Leafs unexpectedly sniffing the playoffs and Laine looking like the second coming of Mike Bossy, Eichel sat on the sidlelines while the rest grabbed the headlines during the first half of the season.
Eichel would make waves upon his return while still suffering the effects of his high-ankle sprain and as of late has really kicked it in gear. He's on an eight-game point-streak (2+9,) has points in 12 of 13 (3+14) while upping his scoring rate to .93 pts./game, good for 14th in the league for those playing in 50 or more games. He also lead the Sabres last month with 14 assists, eight of them primary.
For the first time in a while I heard a member of the Canadian media mention Eichel's name within that group of burgeoning superstars as Ray Ferraro mentioned him while the Leafs were playing Anaheim.
No doubt it's been a struggle for the Sabres, and Eichel as well at times, but for those of us lucky enough to watch "Jack Flash" on a constant basis, there's no denying he's in that top group of McDavid, Matthews and Laine. With the NHL celebrating it's 100th birthday and the Birthplace of Hockey looking at some of it's own making the playoffs this season (as opposed to no Canadian team making it last season,) a heavy focus upon early successes and supreme talent in the Great White North is certainly apropos.
But, don't for get about Jack.
He's comin' for ya.
We've seen this a few times before. There sits a team directly in front of Buffalo and a playoff spot. They meet head-to-head in a "four point game." Sure, coach Babcock, you only get two points for a win, but in preventing the other team from getting two points means it's a four-point swing.
Tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town fresh off a 5-2 defeat last night in Pittsburgh. That's good news for the Sabres as the Lightning remained only one point ahead of Buffalo in the standings while burning up one of their two games in hand on the Sabres. A regulation win by Buffalo puts them ahead of Tampa by one point whereas a regulation loss puts them behind by three points. Of course the "loser point" could come into play in which the Sabres would remain behind Tampa no matter who gets the extra point.
It's a broken record but it should be repeated. The Sabres had an opportunity back in December with games against divisional/conference foes and came up woefully short going 1-4. In January they dropped three of four with losses to Tampa, Carolina and Toronto.
However, since those losses the Sabres are 5-1-0 within the Atlantic Division, 5-2-1 in the Eastern Conference. If we can glean anything positive from a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) around their bye week, it was that those losses all came against the Western Conference.
All of Buffalo's remaining games save for a three-game Western Coast swing (SJS, ANA, LAK) are within the Eastern Conference--eight games within the division and seven more vs. the Metropolitan Division.
The Sabres have only four games this month against teams that they're battling for a playoff spot with--Tampa Bay tonight, Philadelphia (March 7,) Toronto (March 25) and Florida (March 27.) The rest of the month includes the aforementioned West Coast road trip, three games vs. Columbus, two vs. Pittsburgh and one against Detroit.
However, it all begins tonight for Buffalo against a team they've been having all sorts of trouble against.
Last year the Sabres faced Tampa, who were the defending Eastern Conference Champions, four times within the first 15 games of the season with Tampa taking the first three games by a combined 10-3 score. Perhaps the Lightning were tired of beating the Sabres and in the final game of the season series Buffalo prevailed 4-1.
That win last year against the Lightning was right in the middle of a four-game point-streak back in November, 2015. Buffalo would match that point-streak four more times last season and do it twice this season. However, they've not been able to surpass that which is one of the reasons they're stuck near the bottom of a clump of teams fighting for their playoff lives.
This season the Tampa has beaten Buffalo both times by a combined 8-3 score with only Cody Franson (powerplay,) Matt Moulson and Evander Kane lighting the lamp for the Sabres.
With RW Kyle Okposo out of the lineup, head coach Dan Bylsma did a little line shuffling at practice yesterday. According to sarbes.com these were the lines:
Evander Kane-Ryan O'Reilly-Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Tyler Ennis-Evan Rodrigues-Matt Moulson
Nicolas Deslauriers-Zemgus Girgensons-Justin Bailey
And according to WGR550's Paul Hamilton, goalie Robin Lehner is taking part in today's optional skate.
Hamilton also said that the word on Okposo is cracked ribs and he'll be week-to-week. It should be noted that Kane cracked his ribs in the opening game of the season, missed 11 games and it took another 10 games for him to feel like himself again.
*****
There's been a lot of talk in the NHL concerning and impressive group of youngins that are setting the league on fire. At the top of the list, no doubt, is Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid who, at the age of 20, leads the league with 72 points (21g + 51a.) Next on the most revered list is Toronto's Auston Matthews who sent Leaf Nation into a tizzy with a four-goal NHL debut and is presently tied for the lead in rookie goals with 31.
The other rookie with 31 goals is Winnipeg's Patrick Laine who leads the rooks in scoring with 56 points, one point ahead of Matthews. Behind those two on the rookie scoring list are a couple of pretty talented Maple Leafs in Mitch Marner (50 Points) and William Nylander (45.)
Lost in all of this is Buffalo's Jack Eichel, who spent the first 21 games of the season on IR with a high-ankle sprain.
Highly touted as a player ever so slightly below McDavid at the 2015 draft, Eichel had an inconsistent rookie campaign last season but still managed to finish second to 24 yr. old Chicago Blackhawks rookie Artemi Panarin in scoring. With Matthews debut, McDavid's dominance, the Leafs unexpectedly sniffing the playoffs and Laine looking like the second coming of Mike Bossy, Eichel sat on the sidlelines while the rest grabbed the headlines during the first half of the season.
Eichel would make waves upon his return while still suffering the effects of his high-ankle sprain and as of late has really kicked it in gear. He's on an eight-game point-streak (2+9,) has points in 12 of 13 (3+14) while upping his scoring rate to .93 pts./game, good for 14th in the league for those playing in 50 or more games. He also lead the Sabres last month with 14 assists, eight of them primary.
For the first time in a while I heard a member of the Canadian media mention Eichel's name within that group of burgeoning superstars as Ray Ferraro mentioned him while the Leafs were playing Anaheim.
No doubt it's been a struggle for the Sabres, and Eichel as well at times, but for those of us lucky enough to watch "Jack Flash" on a constant basis, there's no denying he's in that top group of McDavid, Matthews and Laine. With the NHL celebrating it's 100th birthday and the Birthplace of Hockey looking at some of it's own making the playoffs this season (as opposed to no Canadian team making it last season,) a heavy focus upon early successes and supreme talent in the Great White North is certainly apropos.
But, don't for get about Jack.
He's comin' for ya.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Sabres respond to Murray speech. However, can they keep it going?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-3-2017
It's getting to the point where "what if?" is making it's way into the vernacular. For the Sabres some of them would include, "What if Jack Eichel wasn't injured? or "What if they'd managed to get a handful of points from teams like Boston?" or "What if they'd taken care of business at Colorado and Arizona last weekend?"
Homie ain't gonna play that game. The only one to play is, "What it is."
Simple fact is the Buffalo Sabres are outside a playoff spot with multiple team to jump and 18 games remaining in the regular season. Last night they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 to snag two points with the scoreboard tilting slightly in their favor as Boston lost while Florida and Toronto got loser points. The Sabres are five points out of the second wild card spot and seven points out of third place in the division.
GM Tim Murray visited the Sabres locker room yesterday to talk to his troops, something he rarely does. The NHL Trade Deadline came and went with no movement involving Buffalo. Everyone knew the names that could've been moved--Dmitry Kulikov, Cody Franson and Brian Gionta--but none were moved and, considering the Sabres were in a 0-3-1 rut, no one was brought in to bolster the club.
The trade deadline is a tough time for players, especially those with families, as uncertainty reigns supreme well into the late afternoon. With the team in the dressing room getting ready for the game Murray went in and talked to his team. After the meeting he went on air with WGR550 an talked about it. "This is our team," Murray said about his talk. "We're relatively healthy right now and we're going to play as hard as we can and get as many points as we can. D-day has gone by. This is our team. You're here. There's 19 games left and let's see what we can do."
And he reiterated his faith in his team, "It's late. It's getting down to the nitty gritty for sure and it's going to be tough and I still believe these players can get it done. Maybe it's false belief. I don't know. I told them I believe in them."
That resonated well amongst those gathered. According to media reports, Ryan O'Reilly said "it was something we needed to hear" while Eichel embraced the team unity aspect about "everyone caring for each other, and everyone gets better and moves forward."
Marcus Foligno said that "everyone in the organization is on the same page. That's what it was" then concluded "Being on the same page and hearing it from Tim was nice. You hear it from your general manager and everyone is going to listen and respect what he said to us."
It kinda makes you what if Murray....
Nope. Ain't gonna go there.
Murray's team responded with a good win that was closer than the score indicated. Buffalo played their usual Jekyll and Hyde game where sometimes they look like world-beaters and at other times they can't help but stumble over themselves. They had a great night on special teams with two powerplay goals and a shortie by Foligno who was set up by some hard work by O'Reilly. But they also gave up a short handed goal and allowed the Coyotes to tie the score twice before pulling away.
Evander Kane, "Mr. Five-on-Five," sent a laser past Arizona goalie Mike Smith to put the Sabres up 4-3 and Buffalo would add two empty net goals by Foligno and Sam Reinhart for the final score.
There's a big test for the Sabres coming on Saturday when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightining in a "four-point" game. Tampa is one point ahead of Buffalo in the standings with two games in hand and they'll make up one of those games tonight as they're in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.
The Sabres haven't fared well against the Bolts lately. They're 0-2 so far this season and went 1-3 vs. Tampa Bay last year. However, tomorrow night's game represent a prime opportunity for Buffalo as they're at home and Tampa's will be coming in for the second game of a back-to-back roadie.
Murray speech yesterday did some good, but how long it will last remains to be seen.
It's getting to the point where "what if?" is making it's way into the vernacular. For the Sabres some of them would include, "What if Jack Eichel wasn't injured? or "What if they'd managed to get a handful of points from teams like Boston?" or "What if they'd taken care of business at Colorado and Arizona last weekend?"
Homie ain't gonna play that game. The only one to play is, "What it is."
Simple fact is the Buffalo Sabres are outside a playoff spot with multiple team to jump and 18 games remaining in the regular season. Last night they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 to snag two points with the scoreboard tilting slightly in their favor as Boston lost while Florida and Toronto got loser points. The Sabres are five points out of the second wild card spot and seven points out of third place in the division.
GM Tim Murray visited the Sabres locker room yesterday to talk to his troops, something he rarely does. The NHL Trade Deadline came and went with no movement involving Buffalo. Everyone knew the names that could've been moved--Dmitry Kulikov, Cody Franson and Brian Gionta--but none were moved and, considering the Sabres were in a 0-3-1 rut, no one was brought in to bolster the club.
The trade deadline is a tough time for players, especially those with families, as uncertainty reigns supreme well into the late afternoon. With the team in the dressing room getting ready for the game Murray went in and talked to his team. After the meeting he went on air with WGR550 an talked about it. "This is our team," Murray said about his talk. "We're relatively healthy right now and we're going to play as hard as we can and get as many points as we can. D-day has gone by. This is our team. You're here. There's 19 games left and let's see what we can do."
And he reiterated his faith in his team, "It's late. It's getting down to the nitty gritty for sure and it's going to be tough and I still believe these players can get it done. Maybe it's false belief. I don't know. I told them I believe in them."
That resonated well amongst those gathered. According to media reports, Ryan O'Reilly said "it was something we needed to hear" while Eichel embraced the team unity aspect about "everyone caring for each other, and everyone gets better and moves forward."
Marcus Foligno said that "everyone in the organization is on the same page. That's what it was" then concluded "Being on the same page and hearing it from Tim was nice. You hear it from your general manager and everyone is going to listen and respect what he said to us."
It kinda makes you what if Murray....
Nope. Ain't gonna go there.
Murray's team responded with a good win that was closer than the score indicated. Buffalo played their usual Jekyll and Hyde game where sometimes they look like world-beaters and at other times they can't help but stumble over themselves. They had a great night on special teams with two powerplay goals and a shortie by Foligno who was set up by some hard work by O'Reilly. But they also gave up a short handed goal and allowed the Coyotes to tie the score twice before pulling away.
Evander Kane, "Mr. Five-on-Five," sent a laser past Arizona goalie Mike Smith to put the Sabres up 4-3 and Buffalo would add two empty net goals by Foligno and Sam Reinhart for the final score.
There's a big test for the Sabres coming on Saturday when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightining in a "four-point" game. Tampa is one point ahead of Buffalo in the standings with two games in hand and they'll make up one of those games tonight as they're in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.
The Sabres haven't fared well against the Bolts lately. They're 0-2 so far this season and went 1-3 vs. Tampa Bay last year. However, tomorrow night's game represent a prime opportunity for Buffalo as they're at home and Tampa's will be coming in for the second game of a back-to-back roadie.
Murray speech yesterday did some good, but how long it will last remains to be seen.
Friday, March 3, 2017
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Individual Stats--February, TDL Edition
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-2-2017
Well, for those who took off work to be in on the action at the NHL's Trade Deadline Day, what a waste of time that was. A total of 10 trades were made yesterday by the 3 p.m. deadline and none involved the Buffalo Sabres.
The ta-do yesterday and today is, how could Buffalo GM Tim Murray not move any of his pending unrestricted free agents. Simply put there wasn't a big enough market for the likes of defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Cody Franson, even though he kept things in perspective concerning the return. Murray stood at the podium yesterday evening talking about the non-event that was the TDL, looking somewhat disappointed and a bit miffed at not being able to get something done. According to Murray, he'd been in conversations with other GM's concerning Kulikov, but seemed to imply that injuries kept anything from getting done.
You can't blame any GM in the league for having reservations. Any scout that came to see Kulikov play had to leave with a poor impression as the veteran defenseman has struggled mightily all season.
The only other player in play was captain Brian Gionta, whom Murray said he had a call on. Murray contacted Gionta and the captain reiterated that he wanted to remain with the team and the GM respecting that.
With the trade deadline now come and gone and nothing happening in Buffalo, what we've seen on the roster is what we've got for the final 19 games of the regular season. The Sabres are at home tonight vs. the Arizona Coyotes and head coach Dan Bylsma looks intent upon shaking his team out of their present four-game winless streak by juggling the forward lines. Here were the lines at practice today (from Jourdon LaBarber, sabres.com):
Tyler Ennis-Ryan O'Reilly-Kyle Okposo
Marcus Foligno-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Evander Kane-Zemgus Girgensons-Brian Gionta
Matt Moulson-Evan Rodrigues-Justin Bailey
The "big" move is Bailey and Ennis switching spots. Bailey once again showed promise in a top-six role but it faded as he ended February with only a goal and two assists in 13 game, although he lead the team in plus/minus for the month with a plus-5.
Ennis has been relegated to fourth-line duty but managed to double Bailey's number by scoring two goals and adding four assists. He was second on the team with a plus-4.
Bylsma's obsession with Foligno continues as he gets another shot in the top-six while Kane, who lead the team with eight goals in February, drops back down to the third line. Gionta had a one-game stint in the top-six switching places with Reinhart, but he's back where he belong--on the third line--while Reinhart is where he belongs--on Eichel's wing.
Speaking of "Jack Flash," watching him and Kane fly up ice was a lot of fun. For most of the month the Kane and Eichel were together and although Eichel only had two goals in the month of February, he lead the team with 14 assists, eight being of the primary variety and he was in on six of Kane's eight goals.
On the downside, Kulikov was a minus-7 for the month while Kane was a minus-6.
With the team basically treading water during a 6-6-2 month of February, it's not surprising that we didn't see much movement statistically from the Sabres goaltenders although Robin Lehner did post his first two shutouts of the season.
It's the final month and a half of the season and the pressure is really off the team right now. There's just a glimmer of hope for a playoff spot and this is usually the time we see some players coming to the fore. But look over the past two months and see who the drivers were on this team. Those are the ones that welcomed the pressure and are ready for the next step--Eichel (27 pts,) Kane (14 goals,) O'Reilly (21 points) and Lehner. There are others who've played well but just haven't hit the scoresheet and there are rooks like Bailey and Rodrigues who are learning the ropes.\
This is the team we've been watching, and it will be the team we'll be watching for the rest of the season.
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Individual Stats leaders:
Points
--October: Okposo, O'Reilly, Ristolainen, 7; Moulson, Brian Gionta, 5
--November: Okposo, Reinhart, 8; O'Reilly, 5
--December: Ristolainen, 15; Eichel, Kane, Reinhart, 10
--January: Kane, O'Reilly, 11; Eichel, Gionta, 10
--February: Eichel, 16; O'Reilly, Okposo, 10
Goals
--October: Okposo, Moulson 4; O'Reilly, Brian Gionta, 3
--November: Reinhart, 4; O'Reilly, Okposo, Moulson, Foligno, 3
--December: Kane, 8; Eichel, 6; Reinhart, Okposo, Gionta, Larsson, Ristolainen, 3
--January: Kane, 6; Eichel, Okposo, Gionta, 5
--February: Kane, 8; O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, 4
Powerplay Goals
--October: Moulson, 4; O'Reilly, 2; Okposo, Sam Reinhart, 1
--November: Moulson, Okposo, 2; Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Larsson, Franson, 1
--December: Okposo, 3; Reinhart, 2; Eichel, Kane, Moulson, Ristolainen, 1
--January: Eichel, 3; Reinhart, Okposo, 2
--February: Reinhart, 3; O'Reilly, 2; Eichel, Moulson, 1
Assists
--October: Ristolainen, 7; O'Reilly, 4; Reinhart, Okposo, Franson, 3
--November: Okposo, 5; Reinhart, Ristolainen, 4; Kane, Franson, 3
--December: Ristolainen, 12; Reinhart, 7; O'Reilly, Okposo, Moulson, Gionta, Foligno, 5
--January: O'Reilly, 9; Reinhart, 6; Kane, 5
--February: Eichel, 14; Ristolainen, 8; O'Reilly, Okposo, 6
Powerplay Assists
--October: Ristolainen, 6; Okposo, 3; O'Reilly, Reinhart, 2
--November: Okposo, 4; O'Reilly, Reinhart, Ristolainen, 2
--December: Ristolainen, 5; O'Reilly, 3; Eichel, Moulson, 2
--January: O'Reilly, 4; Ristolainen, 3; Eichel, Kane, Reinhart, Okposo, 2
--February: Ristolainen, 5; Eichel, Okposo, 3
Primary Assists
--October: O'Reilly, Reinhart, Ristolainen, 3; Gionta, Girgensons, 2
--November: Okposo, Kane, Reinhart, 3; Gionta, 2
--December: Ristolainen, 6; Reinhart, Okposo, 4;
--January: O'Reilly, 7; Reinhart, 6; Franson, 4
--February: Eichel, 8 Okposo, 5; Ristolainen, 4
Plus/Minus
--October: Gionta +3; Okposo, Franson +2
--November: Carrier +2; O'Reilly +1; Reinhart, Grant, Fedun, even
--December: Foligno +5; McCabe +3; Franson +2
--January: O'Reilly, +6; Kane, Girgensons, +4; Fedun Moulson, +3
--February: Bailey, +5; Ennis, +4; Moulson, +3
Plus/Minus (Bottom)
--October: Tyler Ennis -4; Deslauriers, Grant -3
--November: Kane, Gionta -5; Larsson, -4
--December: Kulikov, Bogosian -6; Kane -5
--January: Eichel, Foligno, C. O'Reilly, Bogosian, -5; Franson, -4
--February: Kulikov, -7; Kane, -6; Reinhart, Gionta, -4
Goalies (composite)
Robin Lehner
--October: 2-2-1; 2.61 GAA; .913 Sv%; 0 shutouts
--November: 5-7-3; 2.40; .921; 0
--December: 8-12-5; 2.51; .921; 0
--January: 12-13-5; 2.64; .918; 0
--February: 17-18-7; 2.63; .922; 2
Anders Nilsson
--October: 1-1-1; 1.96 GAA; .937 Sv%; 1 shutout
--November: 3-2-2; 2.20; .939; 1
--December: 5-3-3; 2.47; .925; 1
--January: 8-7-4: 2.60; .923; 1
--February: 9-8-4; 2.69; .921; 1
Well, for those who took off work to be in on the action at the NHL's Trade Deadline Day, what a waste of time that was. A total of 10 trades were made yesterday by the 3 p.m. deadline and none involved the Buffalo Sabres.
The ta-do yesterday and today is, how could Buffalo GM Tim Murray not move any of his pending unrestricted free agents. Simply put there wasn't a big enough market for the likes of defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Cody Franson, even though he kept things in perspective concerning the return. Murray stood at the podium yesterday evening talking about the non-event that was the TDL, looking somewhat disappointed and a bit miffed at not being able to get something done. According to Murray, he'd been in conversations with other GM's concerning Kulikov, but seemed to imply that injuries kept anything from getting done.
You can't blame any GM in the league for having reservations. Any scout that came to see Kulikov play had to leave with a poor impression as the veteran defenseman has struggled mightily all season.
The only other player in play was captain Brian Gionta, whom Murray said he had a call on. Murray contacted Gionta and the captain reiterated that he wanted to remain with the team and the GM respecting that.
With the trade deadline now come and gone and nothing happening in Buffalo, what we've seen on the roster is what we've got for the final 19 games of the regular season. The Sabres are at home tonight vs. the Arizona Coyotes and head coach Dan Bylsma looks intent upon shaking his team out of their present four-game winless streak by juggling the forward lines. Here were the lines at practice today (from Jourdon LaBarber, sabres.com):
Tyler Ennis-Ryan O'Reilly-Kyle Okposo
Marcus Foligno-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Evander Kane-Zemgus Girgensons-Brian Gionta
Matt Moulson-Evan Rodrigues-Justin Bailey
The "big" move is Bailey and Ennis switching spots. Bailey once again showed promise in a top-six role but it faded as he ended February with only a goal and two assists in 13 game, although he lead the team in plus/minus for the month with a plus-5.
Ennis has been relegated to fourth-line duty but managed to double Bailey's number by scoring two goals and adding four assists. He was second on the team with a plus-4.
Bylsma's obsession with Foligno continues as he gets another shot in the top-six while Kane, who lead the team with eight goals in February, drops back down to the third line. Gionta had a one-game stint in the top-six switching places with Reinhart, but he's back where he belong--on the third line--while Reinhart is where he belongs--on Eichel's wing.
Speaking of "Jack Flash," watching him and Kane fly up ice was a lot of fun. For most of the month the Kane and Eichel were together and although Eichel only had two goals in the month of February, he lead the team with 14 assists, eight being of the primary variety and he was in on six of Kane's eight goals.
On the downside, Kulikov was a minus-7 for the month while Kane was a minus-6.
With the team basically treading water during a 6-6-2 month of February, it's not surprising that we didn't see much movement statistically from the Sabres goaltenders although Robin Lehner did post his first two shutouts of the season.
It's the final month and a half of the season and the pressure is really off the team right now. There's just a glimmer of hope for a playoff spot and this is usually the time we see some players coming to the fore. But look over the past two months and see who the drivers were on this team. Those are the ones that welcomed the pressure and are ready for the next step--Eichel (27 pts,) Kane (14 goals,) O'Reilly (21 points) and Lehner. There are others who've played well but just haven't hit the scoresheet and there are rooks like Bailey and Rodrigues who are learning the ropes.\
This is the team we've been watching, and it will be the team we'll be watching for the rest of the season.
Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Individual Stats leaders:
Points
--October: Okposo, O'Reilly, Ristolainen, 7; Moulson, Brian Gionta, 5
--November: Okposo, Reinhart, 8; O'Reilly, 5
--December: Ristolainen, 15; Eichel, Kane, Reinhart, 10
--January: Kane, O'Reilly, 11; Eichel, Gionta, 10
--February: Eichel, 16; O'Reilly, Okposo, 10
Goals
--October: Okposo, Moulson 4; O'Reilly, Brian Gionta, 3
--November: Reinhart, 4; O'Reilly, Okposo, Moulson, Foligno, 3
--December: Kane, 8; Eichel, 6; Reinhart, Okposo, Gionta, Larsson, Ristolainen, 3
--January: Kane, 6; Eichel, Okposo, Gionta, 5
--February: Kane, 8; O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, 4
Powerplay Goals
--October: Moulson, 4; O'Reilly, 2; Okposo, Sam Reinhart, 1
--November: Moulson, Okposo, 2; Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Larsson, Franson, 1
--December: Okposo, 3; Reinhart, 2; Eichel, Kane, Moulson, Ristolainen, 1
--January: Eichel, 3; Reinhart, Okposo, 2
--February: Reinhart, 3; O'Reilly, 2; Eichel, Moulson, 1
Assists
--October: Ristolainen, 7; O'Reilly, 4; Reinhart, Okposo, Franson, 3
--November: Okposo, 5; Reinhart, Ristolainen, 4; Kane, Franson, 3
--December: Ristolainen, 12; Reinhart, 7; O'Reilly, Okposo, Moulson, Gionta, Foligno, 5
--January: O'Reilly, 9; Reinhart, 6; Kane, 5
--February: Eichel, 14; Ristolainen, 8; O'Reilly, Okposo, 6
Powerplay Assists
--October: Ristolainen, 6; Okposo, 3; O'Reilly, Reinhart, 2
--November: Okposo, 4; O'Reilly, Reinhart, Ristolainen, 2
--December: Ristolainen, 5; O'Reilly, 3; Eichel, Moulson, 2
--January: O'Reilly, 4; Ristolainen, 3; Eichel, Kane, Reinhart, Okposo, 2
--February: Ristolainen, 5; Eichel, Okposo, 3
Primary Assists
--October: O'Reilly, Reinhart, Ristolainen, 3; Gionta, Girgensons, 2
--November: Okposo, Kane, Reinhart, 3; Gionta, 2
--December: Ristolainen, 6; Reinhart, Okposo, 4;
--January: O'Reilly, 7; Reinhart, 6; Franson, 4
--February: Eichel, 8 Okposo, 5; Ristolainen, 4
Plus/Minus
--October: Gionta +3; Okposo, Franson +2
--November: Carrier +2; O'Reilly +1; Reinhart, Grant, Fedun, even
--December: Foligno +5; McCabe +3; Franson +2
--January: O'Reilly, +6; Kane, Girgensons, +4; Fedun Moulson, +3
--February: Bailey, +5; Ennis, +4; Moulson, +3
Plus/Minus (Bottom)
--October: Tyler Ennis -4; Deslauriers, Grant -3
--November: Kane, Gionta -5; Larsson, -4
--December: Kulikov, Bogosian -6; Kane -5
--January: Eichel, Foligno, C. O'Reilly, Bogosian, -5; Franson, -4
--February: Kulikov, -7; Kane, -6; Reinhart, Gionta, -4
Goalies (composite)
Robin Lehner
--October: 2-2-1; 2.61 GAA; .913 Sv%; 0 shutouts
--November: 5-7-3; 2.40; .921; 0
--December: 8-12-5; 2.51; .921; 0
--January: 12-13-5; 2.64; .918; 0
--February: 17-18-7; 2.63; .922; 2
Anders Nilsson
--October: 1-1-1; 1.96 GAA; .937 Sv%; 1 shutout
--November: 3-2-2; 2.20; .939; 1
--December: 5-3-3; 2.47; .925; 1
--January: 8-7-4: 2.60; .923; 1
--February: 9-8-4; 2.69; .921; 1
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