Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 Team Stats--January

Record:

January  4-4-2

Heading into this shortened, 56-game season featuring 8 games each against division foes in the newly formed MassMutual East, the Sabres wanted to improve in some specific areas that looked to have accelerated their fall last year. First and foremost was the penalty kill.

Buffalo missed the expanded playoffs by a couple points in the shortened 2019-20 season and the PK was the primary culprit. Their 74.6% kill rate was only .30 of a percentage point better than the Detroit Red Wings, by far the worst team in the league. As the saying goes, your goaltender should be your best penalty killer and last year that aspect failed as a 3.12 overall goals-against average wasn't nearly enough to get the job done.

In the estimation of many, an improved PK, even slightly, may have led to enough added points to break the Sabres playoff drought, which stands at nine years and counting. 

Moving to the offensive side of special teams, Buffalo's powerplay last season was worse than the prior year dropping to 20th overall with an 18.9% success rate. Slight upticks in goals-for/game and 5v5 goals/game did little in the goal scoring department as they increased their average by only .10 goals per game.

The Sabres were woeful at generating shots last season (29.3/game good for 30th in the league) and they've shown a marked increase in that department by pumping 32.2 shots/game (7th) through the first month of the season. However, that's offset by a poor shooting percentage which has kept them at the exact same goal-scoring rate as last season (2.80 gf/game.) 

It's been a Jekyll and Hyde season thus far (mostly on the Hyde side) and it still may be a bit too early to find any definitive trends other than a much stronger PK and a definitive increase in their faceoff percentage. The Sabres came in at a 55.9% win-rate on the dot to end the month which is second in the league only to the Boston Bruins. New center Cody Eakin leads the Sabres and is fourth in the league (59.7%) for players who've taken at least 125 draws while team captain Jack Eichel sits 19th at 54.5%, which is world's better than his career average of 43.7% prior to this season.

As we watched this team through it's first 10 games of this season, we're still trying to figure out what they're all about. Buffalo has talent up front but often look disjointed and they've got a coach who stresses individual freedom, but wants that done within a defensive structure. Ralph Krueger is the team's fourth head coach under their third general manager since their dive to the bottom of the standings beginning in 2013-14 and as you look over his process post-tank, not much has changed overall. Having said that, no one should count them out this early when you have the likes of Eichel, Taylor Hall and Sam Reinhart leading a solid group of forwards, a revitalized Rasmus Ristolainen who along with young vet Jake McCabe has stabilized the defense, and a talent like defenseman Rasmus Dahlin who's beginning to turn his awful start around. But...they need to get it together quick. There's no time to waste and the sooner they figure out that talent alone won't get them to where they want to be, and the coach figures out how to maximize the talent on hand, the better off they'll be.

Wins

--January: 4 (T-16th)...(TOR, PHI 7)

--2019-20:  30 (25th)...(BOS 44)
--2018-19: 33 (26th)...(TBL 62)
--2017-18: 25 (31st)...(TBL 54)
--2016-17: 33 (25th)...(WSH 55)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA 49)
--2013-14: 21 (30th)...(BOS 54)


East/Atlantic Division Standing

--January: 6th...(WSH, PHI)

--2019-20: 6th...(BOS)
--2018-19: 6th...(TBL)
--2017-18: 8th...(TBL)
--2016-17: 8th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
--2013-14: 8th...(BOS)


Eastern Conference Standing

2020-21:  N/A


--2019-20: 13th...(BOS) 
--2018-19: 13th...(TBL)
--2017-18: 16th...(TBL)
--2016-17: 15th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
--2013-14: 16th...(BOS)


League standing/Points

--January: T-14th/10...(WSH, TOR/15)

--2019-20: 25th/68...(BOS/100)
--2018-19: 27th/76...(TBL/128)
--2017-18: 31st/62...(NSH/117)
--2016-17: 26th/78...(WSH/118)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
--2013-15: 30th/52...(BOS/117)


Points Percentage

--January: .500 (T-19th)...(FLA .917)

--2019-20: .493 (25th)...(BOS .714) 
--2018-19: .463 (27th)...(TBL .780)
--2017-18: .378 (31st)...(NSH .713)
--2016-17: .476 (26th)...(WSH .720)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR .689)
--2013-14: .317 (30th)...(BOS .713)


Goal Differential

--January: -2 (T-18th)...(COL +13)

--2019-20: -22 (25th)...(BOS +23)
--2018-19: -45 (26th)...(TBL +103)
--2017-18: -81 (31st)...(TBL +60)
--2016-17: -36 (24th)...(WSH +81)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR +60)
--2013-14: -91 (30th)...(BOS +84)


Goals/Game

--January:  2.80 (20th)...(MTL 4.13)

--2019-20: 2.80 (21st)...(TBL 3.47)
--2018-19: 2.70 (23rd)...(TBL 3.89)
--2017-18: 2.41 (31st)...(TBL 3.54)
--2016-17: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT 3.39)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL 3.16)
--2013-14: 1.83 (30th)...(ANA 3.21)


Shots/Game

--January:  32.2 (7th)...(TBL 34.0)

--2019-20: 29.3 (30th)...(VGN 34.5)
--2018-19: 32.9 (8th)...(CAR 34.4)
--2017-18: 31.2 (20th)...(FLA 34.4)
--2016-17: 30.4 (15th)...(PIT 33.5)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI 33.9)
--2013-14: 26.3 (30th)...(SJS 34.8)


5v5 Goals 

--January:  15 (T-14th)...(VAN 30)

--2019-20: 133 (20th)...(TBL, TOR 161)
--2018-19: 154 (21st)...(TOR 206)
--2017-18: 119 (31st)...(TBL 196)
--2016-17: 126 (28th)...(MIN 187) 
--2015-16: 121 (28th)...(DAL 167)
--2014-15: 110 (29th)...(TBL 181)
--2013-14: 96 (30th)...(ANA 190)


Powerplay

--January: 30.8% (7th)...(WSH 44.4)

--2019-20: 18.9 (20th)...(EDM 29.5)
--2018-19: 19.5 (16th)...(TBL 28.2)
--2017-18: 19.1 (20th)...(PIT 26.2)
--2016-17: 24.5 (1st)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH 25.3)
--2013-14: 14.1 (29th)...(PIT 23.4)


Goals-against/Game

--January:  3.10 (22nd)...(CAR 1.67)

--2019-20: 3.12 (22nd)...(BOS 2.39)
--2018-19: 3.27 (24th)...(NYI 2.33)
--2017-18: 3.39 (29th)...(LAK 2.46)
--2016-17: 2.82 (19th)...(WSH 2.16)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL 2.24)
--2013-14: 2.96 (25th)...(LAK 2.05)


Shots against/Game

--January:  30.4 (19th)...(BOS 22.9)

--2019-20: 31.1 (14th)...(PHI 28.7)

--2018-19: 33.0 (23rd)...(CGY 28.1)
--2017-18: 32.7 (23rd)...(CAR 28.9)
--2016-17: 34.3 (30th)...(LAK 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK 27.0)
--2013-14: 34.3 (28th)...(NJD 25.5)


Penalty Kill

--January: 82.6% (10th)...(COL91.7)  

--2019-20: 74.6 (30th)...(SJS 85.7)
--2018-19: 80.9 (12th)...(TBL 85.0)
--2017-18: 77.9 (22nd)...(LAK 85.0)
--2016-17: 77.6 (25th)...(BOS 85.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN 86.3)
--2013-14: 81.4 (20th)...(NJD 86.4)


Faceoff Percentage

--January: 55.9% (2nd)...(BOS 58.7)

--2019-20: 45.9 (31st)...(PHI 54.6)
--2018-19: 47.9 (T-27th)...(PHI 54.7)
--2017-18: 51.5 (7th)...(CAR 54.1)
--2016-17: 49.6 (17th)...(ANA 54.7) 
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS 53.6)
--2013-14: 46.8 (29th)...(NSH 53.1)

Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 individual stats leaders--January

Record

--January:  4-4-2

The Buffalo Sabres started out the season with six new forwards in the mix:  Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Riley Sheahan and what turned out to be a completely new 3rd line to start the season, Cody Eakin, Tobias Rieder and 19 yr. old rookie forward Dylan Cozens. Hall and Rieder have made their presence known through 10 games with Rieder being a pleasant surprise as he's showing speed and scoring as well as a strong 200' game while carrying the bottom-six and helping the penalty kill on the second unit. Although Staal has contributed offensively and looks to be having a positive effect on Cozens, the 37 yr. old has looked his age as he tries to get that heavy Chevy rolling while gaffes in his own zone have been detrimental and still more turnovers have made things extremely difficult on the team. 

As for Cozens, he came straight from the 2021 World Junior Championships and hit the ice flying. Although he's made some rookie mistakes and is still getting a feel for the NHL, the game itself doesn't seem to be too fast for him and he's really impressed thus-far earning second-line minutes next to Staal. 

Buffalo has really struggled with 5v5 scoring and find themselves near the middle of the pack so far. Considering six of their first 10 games have been one-goal affairs, with two others being losses by two goals via empty-netters against, every goal counts and 5v5 scoring needs to improve or they'll end up on a road that's all too familiar. The Sabres rode two hot streaks early in each of the last two seasons with a similar formula only to fall apart when it mattered.

Right now every game matters as there are only 56 games in the season meaning every point counts. At 4-4-2, Buffalo is right in the middle of the eight-team MassMutual East division despite efforts that have been mostly sketchy save for a couple of good games and one impressive one where they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1. Special teams have been carrying the Sabres as they have the eighth-best powerplay and 10th-best penalty kill, but when it comes to 5v5 they mostly look disjointed.

Head coach Ralph Krueger has some soul-searching to do when putting his lines together as he's caught between a hard-headed belief in players following his system and fashioning his team to his players strengths. Such is the case with winger, Jeff Skinner.

Skinner was a 40-goal scorer before the arrival of Krueger last year and he was noted as much for his 5v5 scoring (191 goals, 5th-most in the league from 2010-11 to 2018-19) as he was for his less-than-stellar defensive game (minus-96, 4th-worst in that same time period.) Since the new coach arrived, Skinner has been Krueger's doghouse under the ruse of wanting balanced scoring amongst as many lines as possible. It hasn't worked out as Skinner scored only 14 goals in 59 games last season (all of them at even strength placing 3rd on the team) and has yet to twinkle the twine this season while playing bottom-six minutes almost exclusively.

These two rams are butting heads and it's not doing anybody any good. However, common sense demands attention to Skinner's 29 goals/82 games career scoring average, his contract which has seven more years at $9 million/season and the fact that he has a no-movement clause. Krueger has resisted giving in thus far but he really needs to do something fast as Skinner looks close to taking the money and running with 46 games to play. I highly doubt the word 'kapitulieren' is in Krueger's motivational book, Teamlife--Beyond Setbacks to Success, but for as worldly as Krueger is, and he's a magnificently well-rounded and intelligent individual, this is the National Hockey League where the salary cap is extremely important, talented players are well-paid and managing egos is the betriebsart in North American professional sports.

In addition, the Sabres are in a division that's widely regarded as the toughest division in the NHL and they have the league's longest playoff drought at nine years, just one shy of the league record. Krueger may need to entertain the thought of Stolz schlucken to give his team the best chance to make it to the playoffs. If he's gonna do it, he needs to do it fast. Though his Sabres are struggling, the race for the fourth spot in the East could be a dog-fight and he'll need to get everything he can out of every player he's got if he wants them to remain in it.

Another thought Krueger might want to entertain involves Skinner taking the top left wing spot next to Eichel (where he had his career-high 40-goal season) and dropping Hall to the second line. In addition to hopefully maximizing what's left of Skinner flailing confidence, the Staal line needs more skill, speed and experience. Victor Olofsson is trying to hold his own 5v5, and he's made great progress in his sophomore campaign, but he's not there yet. Having him move to the right side to help create a third scoring line a isn't bad idea as he can still kill it on the powerplay while providing a top-nine scoring threat. Also in play with that move is the separation of Hall and Eichel. Sure, it looks deadly on paper especially with Reinhart on the right side, but those two love the puck on their stick and we haven't seen a consistently strong, complimentary relationship yet with only one 5v5 goal between them (Eichel.)

Perhaps this might work:

Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart

Hall - Staal - Cozens

Rieder - Lazar - Olofsson

Sheahan - Eakin - Okposo

And we should also keep an eye on Okposo and Casey Mittelstadt with the former looking way past his prime and the latter looking like he's on the upswing. 

Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 Individual Stats Leaders

Points

--January:  Eichel 11;  Olofsson 10;  Hall 9

Goals

--January:  Olofsson 4;  Lazar, Staal, Rieder, Reinhart 3

EV Goals

--January: Lazar, Rieder 3; Staal 2; eight with 1

Powerplay Goals

--January:  Olofsson 3,  Reinhart 2;  seven with 1

Assists

--January:  Eichel 9;  Hall 8;  Olofsson 6

Powerplay Assists

--January:  Eichel 6;  Olofsson 5;  Hall 4

Primary Assists

--January:  Hall 6;  Olofsson 5;  Ristolainen 3

Plus/Minus

--January:  McCabe, Ristolainen +2;  Lazar, Sheahan, Cozens +1; Asplund, Skinner 0

Plus/Minus (Bottom)

--January:  Dahlin -9;  Miller, Reinhart -7;  Eichel, Olofsson, Hall, Montour -6

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

--January: 3-1-2;  2.56 GAA;  .914 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Carter Hutton

--January:  1-3-0;  3.05 GAA;  .895 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Jonas Johansson

--January:  0-0-0;  3.15 GAA;  .889 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Primary Assists

Olofsson----5

Cozens------1

Eichel-------2

Hall----------6

Sheahan-----1

Staal---------2

Skinner------1

Ristolainen--3

Reinhart---- 2

Eakin--------1

Dahlin-------1