PickaPecaPickles

While the Sabres have put themselves into position for a playoff spot, their last 33 games will be (in general) tougher in terms of facing teams in the top half of the league in GAA. Of the 49 games played to date, 22 (45%) were against teams in the top half of the league. For their last 33 games, 20 (60%) will be against teams in the top half, and 15 against teams in the top 10. Fortunately, this last road trip has shown they are up to the task, as DAL and WPG are both top 5 GAA, and MIN 12th. They certainly won't average 3-0-1 through this, but if they can average 2-1-1 (16-9-8), that would put them at 96 points and should get them in this year since the conference is much more competitive. Last year, the Isles were 9th in the standings, 16 points behind the Caps, the last team in. At this point, I'd say only CBJ and the Habs are out of the race. It should be quite a finish.

These are the kind of goals the opposing team always scored, or so it seemed to me for a long, long time. Reminds me of comments from DG in the fall about how they've been focusing on offense as it's much more difficult to learn than D. Hopefully, they are now turning the focus toward D as the playoffs beckon.

He eclipsed his previous season record of 20 goals today with 37 more games to play.

Seems to me height (and girth?) hurts the most on D. I'm sure there are/were examples of 5' 9" D-men who are good, but Bryson doesn't seem to be one of them.

My first game since Covid. A lot of energy in the building. I was hoping to see a TNT goal, but I'll take the KO hat trick. Speaking of, at the start of the 3rd period, my buddy asked, "Would you rather see a shut out or hat trick?" I said a KO hattie. It worked out.

I'm sure it's mostly coaching, but it could also be the emergence of Thompson? The top line of TT, JS, and Tuch have S% of 17.8, 17.2, and 16.5. Skinner is 6.1 points above his career average, and his best year was 14.9 with Eichel. Tuch is 5.9 above his career average and his best year was 12.7. That line also has 1/3 of the team's SOG. The kids' line as a solid S% as well, so I'm sure there are several factors, but I wouldn't discount Thompson's emergence as a superstar.

From Fairburn's article today https://theathletic.com/4029058/2022/12/22/buffalo-sabres-playoffs/ :

Need a win tonight. Combined with Vegas beating the Isles and Leafs beating the Caps, the Sabres would move within 3 points of the last playoff spot.

Yes, interesting question put that way. TT and Dahlin are a toss up for "best" player, but MVP? Who would the team miss most if not in the lineup? We've already seen the Mule impact and there's a strong case there.

ESPN doing weird things too.

His speed had a lot to do with their goal last night. Impressive.

That looked like a slider that started outside the post and bent in. Damn, he's good!

On the pre-game, Lundqvist said the Sabres have the worst D in the league. Who needs it! Interested to hear his take on the break now.

Cozens, third game in a row with 3 points.

Do they have a 3rd goalie?

Hattie

This one.

He's got 10 points in his last 10 games, and Quinn has 9. It'll be interesting to see how they finish the second half of the season.

I think they win tonight. The last game in TB, they were without Dahlin, Mule, and Joki. Their D consisted of Power, Bryson, Lybush, Clague, FitzG, and Pilut.

An Athletic article this a.m. ranks the 10 best rookies of this season so far: Power at #3 and Quinn at #5 (Beniers #1 and L. Thompson #2). https://theathletic.com/3925974/2022/11/24/nhl-rookies-owen-power-logan-thompson/

A lot of good quotes on Quinn and the Young-guns line from Fairburn's Athletic article: On Quinn: On their line: https://theathletic.com/3930511/2022/11/24/sabres-blues-jack-quinn-upl/

It was a comment about the overall, season-long D and what they would need to put them in the hunt come spring. Staying healthy, including GTs, would help bring their GAA down some (currently at 3.58). The young guys creating a stronger second scoring line was the other ingredient.

Hopefully it happens early enough to put them in the playoff race at the finish line. The top line (I know they haven't played together every game), has 30 of their 69 goals. When this young gun line starts shooting straight, they will be a dangerous team. I also expect the GA will come down a bit, now that the defense is back to full strength.

So, I was looking at the standings to see where the Blues stand, and noticed this random stat: there are 12 teams with a record of .500 or worse, and the Sabres are the only team with a + goal differential (+1), and the closest team following is the Wild at -5. Expanding the criteria to teams with 20 or fewer points (there are 17), again, the Sabres are the only team with a positive goal differential (Panthers are even). Is this just a fluke stat, or does it describe something meaningful about this team that belies its recent losing streak?

Samuelson