Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-29-2019
Prior to Sunday the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills had a combined 14-3-1 record and both were in great spots moving forward--the Sabres were atop the NHL and the Bills were second in their division, squarely in a wild card spot. After this last night both were still in solid spots but a little shine taken off of their armor. The Sabres went 1-1-1 over a three-game stint from Thursday to Monday while the Bills ran into a road grader in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday who beat them 31-13 in Buffalo.
The Bills couldn't handle an Eagles team that was embarrassed the week before in Dallas. Philadelphia came to Buffalo with their backs against the wall in a fight for their playoff life and used an NFC East-style running game led by a big and mean offensive line to plow their way to 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns. After the game, Eagles running back Jordan Howard was quoted by the as saying, "We were able to wear their defense down. You could tell at the end of the game that they really didn't want to tackle us."
Having said that, you couldn't place the blame fully on the Bills defense as the offense sputtered. Once Buffalo fell behind they were throwing the ball more, getting nowhere in the process, and eventually the Eagles just ground them down as evidenced by a very lopsided 35:57 to 24:03 time of possession in favor of Philadelphia.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Sabres looking for a 10-win October
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-28-2019
The longest winning streak in Buffalo Sabres franchise history came in the month October as that 2006-07 team won their first 10 games of the season. That record was matched last season as the team won 10 in a row in November. What followed those two streaks couldn't be more extreme. The '06/'07 Sabres went on to win the President's Trophy for most points in the NHL that year while the '18/19 Sabres missed the playoffs and finished 27th in the league.
With a win tonight Buffalo will become the first team to 10 wins this season and they would also tie that '06/'07 Sabres team for most points in October, albeit having played two more games. They're also off to a 5-0-0 start at home which is the first time a Buffalo team has done that since 1984-85 and a with win tonight they will tie a franchise record set in 1975-76 for best start at home.
The longest winning streak in Buffalo Sabres franchise history came in the month October as that 2006-07 team won their first 10 games of the season. That record was matched last season as the team won 10 in a row in November. What followed those two streaks couldn't be more extreme. The '06/'07 Sabres went on to win the President's Trophy for most points in the NHL that year while the '18/19 Sabres missed the playoffs and finished 27th in the league.
With a win tonight Buffalo will become the first team to 10 wins this season and they would also tie that '06/'07 Sabres team for most points in October, albeit having played two more games. They're also off to a 5-0-0 start at home which is the first time a Buffalo team has done that since 1984-85 and a with win tonight they will tie a franchise record set in 1975-76 for best start at home.
Monday, October 28, 2019
That winning feeling
Back in 2006/07 when the Buffalo Sabres were the surprise of the National Hockey League with a team that embodied "the new NHL," Buffalo captain Chris Drury said their goal was to not lose two games in a row. The team came out on fire winning their first 10 games of the season before dropping one in the shootout and would go 11-0-1 before their first regulation loss. That Sabres team wouldn't lose two games in a row until mid-December and went on to win the President's Trophy with a 53-22-7 record. They finished the season with consecutive losses a total of five times (thrice in January.)
Although it's still a very young 2019-20 season, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres has yet to suffer back-to-back losses. Of the 12 games they've played thus far, three of them have not gone well but they managed to follow those up with some solid performances. The Sabres lost in overtime at Columbus but followed it up with a 5-4 overtime win at home against the Montreal Canadiens, they got manhandled for the final 40 minutes in 5-2 a loss at Anaheim then shut out the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 the following night, and last night they shut out the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 after losing 5-2 the previous night at New York against the Rangers.
A quick qualifier: Montreal, Los Angeles and Detroit are a combined 11-18-2 thus far on the season.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Down goes Buffalo. Detroit up next tonight.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-25-2019
For as good as the Buffalo Sabres have been this season, their Achilles heel has been their performances on the road. They're most definitely getting it right at home as a the Sabres are sporting a rather robust 5-0-0 record (which includes two wins in overtime and one in the shootout) while outscoring their opponents 22-11, their play on the road has been suspect.
After getting shellacked by the NY Rangers last night 6-2 their road record is a pedestrian 3-2-1 and they've played their three worst games this season away from KeyBank Center. They were outplayed in Columbus but pulled out a point against the Blue Jackets, were manhandled by the Anaheim Ducks, and outplayed by an opportunistic Rangers team last night. They were outscored by a combined 15-7 in those three losses.
The most noticeable shortcoming in those three games is from Buffalo's top line as Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson have combined for one goal and zero assists at even strength with a minus-12 total rating. Teams are taking advantage of having the last change at home and are able to match up their best checking lines against the Sabres top line and so far Buffalo has had no answer.
For as good as the Buffalo Sabres have been this season, their Achilles heel has been their performances on the road. They're most definitely getting it right at home as a the Sabres are sporting a rather robust 5-0-0 record (which includes two wins in overtime and one in the shootout) while outscoring their opponents 22-11, their play on the road has been suspect.
After getting shellacked by the NY Rangers last night 6-2 their road record is a pedestrian 3-2-1 and they've played their three worst games this season away from KeyBank Center. They were outplayed in Columbus but pulled out a point against the Blue Jackets, were manhandled by the Anaheim Ducks, and outplayed by an opportunistic Rangers team last night. They were outscored by a combined 15-7 in those three losses.
The most noticeable shortcoming in those three games is from Buffalo's top line as Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson have combined for one goal and zero assists at even strength with a minus-12 total rating. Teams are taking advantage of having the last change at home and are able to match up their best checking lines against the Sabres top line and so far Buffalo has had no answer.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Buffalo beats San Jose 4-3 in OT plus your five-game Sabres recap
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-23-2019
We're not sure if you can ask for a much better start to the Sabres season. After their 4-3 overtime win last night, the Buffalo is now 8-1-1 and though it's not the 10-game winning streak from last year, early indications are that this is not the same team as last year's either. This edition of the Sabres looks like they have many of the pieces in place to make this more sustainable, not 120-point sustainable, but at least playoff contender-worthy right now.
With last night's win over the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo is still undefeated at home, although three of the five wins came in the extra session and in two of them they blew two-goal leads. Against San Jose they actually came back from a 2-0 deficit and played their game to a 3-2 lead before surrendering the game-tying goal past the half-way point of the third period. They never wavered in this one and finished the Sharks off in overtime.
We're not sure if you can ask for a much better start to the Sabres season. After their 4-3 overtime win last night, the Buffalo is now 8-1-1 and though it's not the 10-game winning streak from last year, early indications are that this is not the same team as last year's either. This edition of the Sabres looks like they have many of the pieces in place to make this more sustainable, not 120-point sustainable, but at least playoff contender-worthy right now.
With last night's win over the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo is still undefeated at home, although three of the five wins came in the extra session and in two of them they blew two-goal leads. Against San Jose they actually came back from a 2-0 deficit and played their game to a 3-2 lead before surrendering the game-tying goal past the half-way point of the third period. They never wavered in this one and finished the Sharks off in overtime.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
On Krueger's goalie rotation and line stability plus tonight vs. SJS
Normally when a goalie pitches a shutout he gets the next start and chances are the head coach will ride him until he cools off. Exceptions to that rule may include playing back-to-back nights or having the No. 1 goalie back in net no matter what the back up does but "riding the hot hand" is usually what a head coach does especially if a team is in a 1A/1B situation with their netminders.
The Buffalo Sabres do have a No. 1 goalie in Carter Hutton but he and Linus Ullmark seem to be more of a 1A/1B than a 65/17 starter/backup tandem. Neither had a great 2018-19 season, especially in the second half when the team collapsed, and coming into camp new head coach Ralph Krueger stressed competition. Hutton got the start in the season opener, which isn't all that unremarkable considering the respect he garners on and off the ice, and after a 29-save, 3-1 win in Pittsburgh he got the start in the home-opener as well. The Sabres won that game 7-2 before a home rollicking crowd celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the franchise.
Krueger gave Ullmark the next start in Columbus and the 26 yr. old managed to salvage a point for Buffalo with a 40-save performance in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets and the duo have been rotating ever since. Which is rather curious considering Hutton blanked the Dallas Stars before the team embarked on their just completed three-game California road trip.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Sabres have answers in San Jose, are now 7-1-1
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-20-2019
Who would have thought?
Coming into the 2019-20 season most pundits looked at the Buffalo Sabres lineup and it didn't look as if they'd made enough significant changes to even get close to their goal of ending an NHL-long, eight-year playoff drought. Some of the more rabid Sabres fans even called for the head of general manager Jason Botterill for not doing enough while hanging on to a list of what they considered hockey deplorables. Vladimir Sobotka was the king of the list with names like Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo and Marco Scandella deemed terrible. Many couldn't wait until defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen finally got traded for top-six help up-front even though in some fans eyes he rivaled Sobotka for the dubious distinction as most deplorable Sabre.
Although it's still way too early in the season to uncork the champagne in celebration of finally making it to the post-season, there are plenty of signs that this team will at least be able to make a run if they continue to play they way they have and their 7-1-1 start to the season most certainly helps. New head coach Ralph Krueger has each player believing in themselves and in their intrinsic value to the team. He's found four trios up front that he can roll and his pairings on the back-end have in the very least been solid but maybe more importantly, he's got this team playing as a five-man unit with support in every zone.
Who would have thought?
Coming into the 2019-20 season most pundits looked at the Buffalo Sabres lineup and it didn't look as if they'd made enough significant changes to even get close to their goal of ending an NHL-long, eight-year playoff drought. Some of the more rabid Sabres fans even called for the head of general manager Jason Botterill for not doing enough while hanging on to a list of what they considered hockey deplorables. Vladimir Sobotka was the king of the list with names like Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo and Marco Scandella deemed terrible. Many couldn't wait until defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen finally got traded for top-six help up-front even though in some fans eyes he rivaled Sobotka for the dubious distinction as most deplorable Sabre.
Although it's still way too early in the season to uncork the champagne in celebration of finally making it to the post-season, there are plenty of signs that this team will at least be able to make a run if they continue to play they way they have and their 7-1-1 start to the season most certainly helps. New head coach Ralph Krueger has each player believing in themselves and in their intrinsic value to the team. He's found four trios up front that he can roll and his pairings on the back-end have in the very least been solid but maybe more importantly, he's got this team playing as a five-man unit with support in every zone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)