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At least Stewart gets it, plus third period perils |
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When your team is last in the league and on a losing streak where the NHL mark for futility enters the conversation, there doesn't seem to be a whole helluva lot to play for as an individual. The Buffalo Sabres lost their 14th game in a row last night and, unfortunately, are closing in on the NHL record for consecutive losses. Both the 1974-75 Washington Capitals and 1992-93 San Jose' Sharks hold the dubious distinction of losing 17 consecutive games.
For posterity's sake, Sabres goalie coach Arturs Irbe was a rookie netminder for the Sharks during that season while Jeff Hackett, uncle of last night's starter in net, Matt Hackett, played 36 games winning only 2 of them for the Sharks that year.
Despite the tough season there are a lot of eyes on individual players from high up in the press box and it behooves them to put on a good show. Especially veteran players who will be unrestricted free agents at seasons' end.
Forward Chris Stewart is one of them.
We all know the physical traits (6'2" 231 lbs.,) we know his past successes (a 28-goal season) and we know that the combination of size and skill he possess is very attractive to teams looking for a rental player to power them through the stretch-drive and into the playoffs.
Stewart is having a less than stellar season overall due in large part to an atrocious start. But as the March 2nd traded deadline starts creeping up, he looks to be picking up his game. He has four goals and six points in his last five games and has found a home in front of the net on the power play. The Sabres have scored powerplay goals in four of their last five games with Stewart scoring pp goals in three consecutive games including two last night.
His nine points (4+5) during 13 games of this losing streak is admirable considering the team has scored only 20 goals during those games. It's something that attracts the attention of potential trade-deadline buyers.
Despite the horrendous season he's been caught up in, Stewart still has the size and the sandpaper teams covet. The better he plays, the better the opportunity for him to latch on to a contender like the Boston Bruins who's style of play is right up his alley. And the quicker he'll get out of this morass.
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The third period has been brutal for the Sabres all season. Last night in Vancouver they went into the final frame down 3-2 but ended up getting outshot by a 15-6 margin, eventually losing the game 5-2 (one empty netter for the Canucks.)
It's a trend that's been predominant.
During this franchise record 14-game losing streak the Sabres have been outshot by their opponents 141-88 (about a 10-6 margin) in the third period and have been outscored by a margin of 22-4. Buffalo has hit double-digits in shots only two times while opponents have done so 10 times.
A perfect example of their third period woes happened against Calgary this past Tuesday. The Sabres played a solid road game keeping it tight and skating into the third period with the score tied 1-1 and even with the Flames in shots at 16 apiece. But the bottom fell out.
“We played 40 minutes of good hockey," said Stewart after the Calgary game, "[but] came out in the third and kind of just crumbled."
The Flames outshot the Sabres by a 15-2 margin en route to a three-goal third period and a 4-1 final margin of victory.
Overall this season the Sabres have been outshot 583-363 in the third period and have been outscored 72-32 . They've outshot their opponents only seven of 49 times while outscoring them only seven times as well.
Getting outshot during the third period was also predominant theme through their 10-3 hot streak as they were outshot by an 11-7 margin through those 13 games. Their record was the result of two factors coming together at the same time, they capitalized on their opportunities (13 goals during that stretch) and got some exceptional goaltending (10 goals against.)
With the Sabres are only three more games away from tying the NHL mark for futility, somehow methinks that they'll need to win a third period if they want to break this streak.
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