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If one had said at the beginning of the 2018-19 season that Buffalo would be tied for third place in the Atlantic division at the half-way point, most in Sabreland would have felt pretty good about that. After coming off another last place season in 2017-18, predictions for the club generally fell in the 80-90 point range with the team possibly battling for a playoff spot into March and it looks as if those prediction could come true.
The Sabres have 50 points on the season thus far, are on pace for 100 points and have shown that a finish in the upper area (and beyond) of those preseason predictions is very possible. Throughout their 22-13-6 record to date this club has shown resiliency and the capacity to keep games close. Most of the time they'd come on top of the tight ones, and other times they'd fall short as indicated by their 12-3-6 record in one-goal games with those six overtime losses (and the loser point involved) keeping them in the thick of things. And, as one would expect from a team three games above the real .500 mark with a goal-differential of +1, they have an even 10-10 record in games decided by two or more goals.
It wasn't hard to get caught up in the euphoria of their 10-game winning streak back in November, nor was it all that surprising that expectations came back down to earth as the high of that run was lost in the ensuing 4-7-4 record that brought the 2018 portion of the season to a close. As usual, there's an uproar in situations like that with calls for changes (sometimes drastic) from the fan base, but Sabres management took it all in stride. Coach Phil Housley was at the podium after practice on Wednesday touting the play of his team despite not getting the results. "I know overall the last 15 games, our record isn't where it needs to be," he said to the gathered media. "But I think if you look at it in a shorter sample size, the last five games, I really liked the way we played. There were a lot of things to like. We're not getting the results, that's the next step."
Housley wants his team to play a fast game, and generally speaking, they have. "We're a fast team that works hard, has good checking detail when we're coming back with back pressure on the puck, we're stripping puck," he said. "That's the kind of identity that we've carved out.
As they were carving out their identity, Housley's Sabres were winning games without playing a full 60 minutes as described above. There were a number of games during their winning streak where they played less, sometimes far less, than a full game and still came out on top. Ironically, Buffalo has played some of their best hockey in a losing cause. Against the NY Rangers just prior to the streak they played a helluva game but came up short thanks to first-star goaltending. In early December they went toe-to-toe with the Toronto Maple Leafs in what might have been their best game of the season, but lost in overtime. Just recently they played great games against the Washington Capitals and NY Islanders but fell short.
The good news is that, thanks to the winning streak, Buffalo has managed to maintain their playoff position while working through a period of playing well but not getting the desired results and it doesn't seem as if they're losing faith in what they're doing. Individually and as a team there are a lot of areas to like moving forward and we can begin with the top line.
What's been very noticeable for this club is a top line led by Jack Eichel who also leads the Sabres with 49 points (15+34.) He spent the early part of the season dishing primary assists before lighting the lamp for 10 goals in December. Left wing Jeff Skinner was the recipient of many Eichel dishes and his team-leading 28 goals place him second in the league behind Alexander Ovechkin (30.) Sam Reinhart had been moved in and out of a top-line right wing role early but has been in that position dating back to late November. Reinhart leads the team with 24 points (8+16) over that 18-game span and has 40 points on the season. His 31 assists is already a career-high and he's within 10 points of matching his career-high of 50 points set last season.
That's the obvious portion of Buffalo's success story so far this season but what may have gone relatively unnoticed is the play of the defense. There have been individual struggles in-game and for stints but generally speaking the group of six that are on the ice have played well. Everybody brings a little something different to the corps but what they've all been doing much better is getting the puck up ice and being more involved in the offense. Their 18 goals through 41 games is just one shy of what they scored in all of 2017-18. Although they've had their moments on defense, everything from their stickwork, passing and overall mobility continues to improve and they've been getting the puck to the forwards more cleanly and much more often. And for their part, the forward group has been much better with their support from the backcheck to the breakout.
In all there's a lot to like about the club and a lot to look forward to. Last night was a prime example of a team that came through under difficult circumstances.
The Sabres came into last night's game on a seven game losing streak against the Florida Panthers (0-6-1) and the were without Eichel who's listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Florida has been playing a rugged game under coach Bob "The Boogieman" Boughner and last night was no exception. The Cats were laying the body on Buffalo pretty hard the first 20 minutes but not only did the Sabres give it right back, they left the ice with a 2-0. Buffalo kept their composure throughout the game and even though they struggled a little bit in the last half, they came away with the 'W'. Skinner led the way with two goals and Linus Ullmark was strong in net. Again. Ullmark has a 9-1-3 record with a 2.73 goal-against average and a .922 save percentage and is developing nicely this season as backup to starter Carter Hutton.
The Sabres start the second half of the season with a matchup against the Bruins, who are tied with Buffalo for third in the division. This will be the final meeting of the season between the two clubs and the last opportunity for on team to come out on top of a four-point swing. The Sabres are 1-1-1 vs. Boston this season and in another test of their mettle will be without Eichel once again.
Boston has been getting healthy and have been hot as of late with a three-game winning streak and just two losses in their last eight games.
After three more games against Eastern conference foes the Sabres head out for a three-game, Western Canada swing prior to the All-Star break and return to action with a back-to-back roadie to finish January.
This is still a young team at their core with a 22 yr. old captain, two full-time rookies, and six other players age 24 and younger. It's their second season under Housley and in-all they've acquitted themselves quite well showing no signs of being intimidated by any team. With inconsistencies and streaks the norm, a 22-13-6 record att this juncture looks pretty good and regardless of what we may have thought during the win-streak and the struggles that followed, overall they've exceeded expectations.
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