@boosbuzzsabres
After the Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night Buffalo captain Jack Eichel talked of the media, "and probably himself," looking too frequently at the negative in what turned out to be a lost season for the team. Eichel and his Sabres teammates were coming off of a feel-good win on Fan Appreciation Night when he made those comments after a game that closed out the home schedule at KeyBank Center. The 5-2 win versus the last place Senators brought some relief to those in Sabreland who were left to watch four months of some pretty depressing hockey when it mattered most. Buffalo had only four wins each in December, January and February and to make matters worse they won a paltry two out of 16 games in the month of March.
While Eichel was stretching for positives, which included 21 wins at home, tying for the most since 2009-10, and some individual feats that we'll cover at a later date, the fact remains that team-wise they were as poor as, or worse than, the teams that came out of the tank years under then head coach Dan Bylsma. In his sophomore season as Sabres head coach, Phil Housley was dancing on air back in November when his team was on a 10-game winning streak but had no answers during a precipitous fall from that high in the ensuing months.
Here's WGR550 Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton on the morning show talking about what has transpired under Housley, an offensive-minded Hockey Hall-of-Fame player and the supposed mastermind behind the incredible Nashville defense of 2016-17 that ended up propelling the Predators to the Stanley Cup Final that year. "It's obvious [the players] don't understand Phil Housley," said a cut-and-dry Hamilton to the hosts, "I mean all you've got to do is watch the defensive zone. Every now and then they have a game where it looks like play well defensively, but basically you watch them in the defensive zone and they have no idea what they're doing or what they're supposed to be doing.
"It just seems like [Housley] doesn't change anything, like [he's saying] 'This is the system we're going to play and we're gonna keep practicing it until you guys get it.' Well, it's been two years and they really haven't gotten it."
Hamilton went on to say that when they got it, it worked well, but that it was almost by happenstance. He also said that Housley was "very bullheaded" about his system while pointing out that "it worked for the Nashville Predators but the Predators also have better players."
Such will be the off-season in Buffalo as GM Jason Botterill will have his work cut out for him trying to bolster the talent-level on his team. In addition to that, there's also a decision to make on Housley's future alghough it looks as if they'll keep him in one of those "short-leash" situations.
That's fare for future blogs but for now we'll look back a little bit at the team this past season. To keep in touch with Eichel's wishes, and stay on the positive side, that 10-game winning streak did tie a franchise record, which was awesome. However, the list of negative marks this team set for the season, and for Housley's two-year tenure thus far, is not very good:
--Buffalo's 40 points since the final win of the streak was dead last in the league and their 16 wins were three less than the next worse teams.
--In March they were shut out three consecutive games for the second year in a row, something that hasn't happened in the NHL since 1929. The entirety of that goal-drought was over 197 minutes and surpassed a franchise-record 195 minute drought last season set under Housley.
--Until the last two games against the worst team in the league, Ottawa, and the third worst team in the conference, Detroit, the Sabres had not won back-to-back games since Dec. 13 and they hadn't won two in a row in regulation since bagging three in a row from October 20-25. Of note, the 10-game winning streak featured seven overtime/shootout wins.
--Outside of the 2013-15 tank years and any surrounding seasons, as well as any shortened NHL seasons, their 138 points over the last two seasons is the worst output since 1970-72, their first two years in the league. And those teams played four less games per season.
--The Sabres are the second team in NHL history to have a 10-game winning streak and miss the playoffs in the same season
To say it was disappointing for everyone concerned might be an understatement, but perhaps more to the point for owners Terry and Kim Pegula is this, according to Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News "the Sabres finished with an average home attendance of 17,908, the franchise's lowest mark since it drew 16,886 per game during the 2005-06 season." That dubious distinction also includes attendance during the two tank years of 2013-14 (18,579) and 2014-15 (18,580.)
While going through the team stats this season you'll see that Housley's "shot mentality" took hold as they finished with 32.9 shots/game (8th in the league,) but every other stat here has them ranked in the 20's, save for special teams. The powerplay, which was No. 1 in the league two years ago, finished at 19.5% (16th in the league,) which is slightly better than the 19.1% they converted on last season. Buffalo finished an 80.9% kill-rate (12th) but was top-10 from Dec.-Feb. before collapsing in March.
In all, the Sabres finished with a 33-39-10 record for 76 points and a 27th place finish, which is better than last season when they went 25-45-12 for 65 points while finishing dead last in the league. The Ottawa Senators are the only team in the league with a worse record over that span but on a positive note, Buffalo will be getting another high draft pick this year.
Buffalo Sabres 2018-19 YTD Team Stats (League Rankings)...(Leader):
Wins
--October: 6 (17th)…(NSH 9)
--November: 17 (T-3rd)…(TBL/TOR 18)
--December: 21 (10th)...(TBL 31)
--January: 25 (T-15th)...(TBL 37)
--February: 29 (21st)...(TBL 49)
--March: 31 (T-26)...(TBL 59)
--Final: 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)
Atlantic Division Standing
--October: 5th...(TBL)
--November: T-1st (TBL)
--December: 3rd...(TBL)
--January: 5th...(TBL)
--February: 6th...(TBL)
--March: 7th...(TBL)
--Final: 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
--October: 6th...(TBL)
--November: T-1st (TBL)
--December: T-5th...(TBL)
--January: 9th...(TBL)
--February: 12th...(TBL)
--March: 14th...(TBL)
--Final: 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
--October: 14th/12...(NSH/18)
--November: T-1st/37 (TBL)
--December: T-10th/48 (TBL 64)
--January: 14th/56...(TBL 76)
--February: 22nd/66...(TBL 102)
--March: 28th/72...(TBL 122)
--Final: 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
--October: .583 (15th)…(TBL .773)
--November: .685 (3rd)…(TBL .712)
--December: .600 (9th)...(TBL .800)
--January: .560 (14th)...(TBL .760)
--February: .524 (21st)...(TBL .785)
--March: .456 (28th)...(TBL .782)
--Final: .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
--October: -4 (22nd)…(COL +14)
--November: +9 (T-8th)…(TOR +26)
--December: 0 (T-16th)...(TBL +51)
--January: -4 (17th)...(TBL 57)
--February: -18 (21st)...(TBL +80)
--March: -53 (T-27th)...(TBL +97)
--Final: -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
--October: 2.58 (26th)…(PIT 4.30)
--November: 3.04 (T-14th)…(COL 3.73)
--December: 2.80 (22nd)...(TBL 4.13)
--January: 2.84 (20th)...(TBL 3.96)
--February: 2.81 (23rd)...(TBL 3.80)
--March: 2.62 (26th)...(TBL 3.88)
--Final: 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
--October: 30.3 (24th)…(CAR 41.7)
--November: 31.6 (16th)…(CAR 38.9)
--December: 32.1 (13th)...(CAR 37.2)
--January: 32.3 (11th)...(CAR 35.8)
--February: 32.7 (9th)...(CAR 35.1)
--March: 32.8 (8th)...(CAR 34.6)
--Final: 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
--October: 18 (25th)…(PIT 33)
--November: 54 (9th)…(OTT 63)
--December: 74 (19th)...(TBL 107)
--January: 101 (15th)...(TBL 127)
--February: 123 (19th)...(TOR 160)
--March: 144 (22nd)...(TOR 198)
--Final: 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
--October: 20.0% (17th)…(WSH 37.1)
--November: 19.5 (16th)…(COL 31.4)
--December: 19.2 (19th)...(TBL 29.2)
--January: 16.7 (23rd)...(TBL 29.8)
--February: 18.8 (18th)...(TBL 29.3)
--March: 18.4 (18th)...(TBL 28.5)
--Final: 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
--October: 2.92 (15th)…(ARI,1.91)
--November: 2.81 (T-11th)…(BOS 2.40)
--December: 2.85 (11th)...(NSH 2.58)
--January: 2.96 (14th)...(NYI 2.41)
--February: 3.13 (20th)...(NYI 2.30)
--March: 3.32 (26th)...(NYI 2.38)
--Final: 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
--October: 32.2 (19th)…(VGK 24.4)
--November: 33.1 (25th)…(VGK 27.4)
--December: 33.1 (T-25th)...(CAR 27.9)
--January: 32.6 (24th)...(CAR 27.9)
--February: 32.8 (24th)...(CAR 28.0)
--March: 33.2 (25th)...(CGY 28.1)
--Final: 33 (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
--October: 78.9% (15th)…(TBL 93.2)
--November: 80.2 (12th)…(ARI 89.5)
--December: 83.8 (5th)...(ARI 87.7)
--January: 81.9 (9th)...(ARI 86.9)
--February: 83.0 (5th)...(ARI 85.9)
--March: 80.7 (15th)...(ARI 85.1)
--Final: 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
--October: 49.0 (19th)…(PHI 57.1)
--November: 47.8 (28th)…(PHI 55.6)
--December: 48.0 (25th)...(PHI 55.8)
--January: 48.6 (22nd)...(PHI 56.4)
--February: 48.9 (21st)...(PHI 55.5)
--March: 47.9 (27th)...(PHI 54.9)
--Final: 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)
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