Sabres best record and most wins thru 46 games since 2009

[Big Guava]

I'm going to say this team has officially turned the corner...

Consistency of play has been really good, they seem to finally understand what constitutes winning hockey on a nightly basis and most importantly they are actually willing to play it.

On a 100 point pace this season, this team is starting to turn it up...

Edited January 16 by Big Guava

[Indabuff]

I'm still skeptical but I'm cautiously optimistic.

[transient]

Huh... the blue line is allowed to go above the yellow line... who knew? 😄

[Weave]

7 hours ago, Indabuff said:

I'm still skeptical but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Yeah, same here.  Skeptisism because there is nothing to point to that explains the switch being flipped.  Nonetheless, here we are.

Ride the wave, I guess.

[Jorcus]

We already have more points than the team finished with in the 2013 and the 2014 seasons. I guess those teams are not on the Reunion list.

[Big Guava]

47 minutes ago, Weave said:

Yeah, same here.  Skeptisism because there is nothing to point to that explains the switch being flipped.  Nonetheless, here we are.

Ride the wave, I guess.

There wasn't in '05-'06 either.

It was long overdue is probably the best explanation.

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

Yeah, same here.  Skeptisism because there is nothing to point to that explains the switch being flipped.  Nonetheless, here we are.

Ride the wave, I guess.

The main difference is they're getting better Goaltending. 

That, and Samuelson.

I guess if you want to you could say they're doing the whole "Learning to win" thing... Holding on to leads, stuff like that. 

But in terms of shots generated, shots allowed, scoring chances generated, scoring chances allowed, things like expected goals, Fenwick, corsy... They're not all that different from last year. 

We just have to hope the goaltending stays above average... No really sign saying it shouldn't though. We'll see.

Edited January 16 by mjd1001

[Weave]

7 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

The main difference is they're getting better Goaltending. 

That, and Samuelson.

I guess if you want to you could say they're doing the whole "Learning to win" thing... Holding on to leads, stuff like that. 

But in terms of shots generated, shots allowed, scoring chances generated, scoring chances allowed, things like expected goals, Fenwick, corsy... They're not all that different from last year. 

We just have to hope the goaltending stays above average... No really sign saying it shouldn't though. We'll see.

Was it just before Thanksgiving that they started that big streak?  I guess thats my point.  Just before, and then at the start of the streak, nothing notable changed other than the on ice results. 

Not complaining.  It just seems ethereal, and therefore hard to trust.

[Big Guava]

Also crazy that all of these wins lately are coming in regulation so nobody is picking up loser points on us either.

[Big Guava]

15 minutes ago, Weave said:

Was it just before Thanksgiving that they started that big streak?  I guess thats my point.  Just before, and then at the start of the streak, nothing notable changed other than the on ice results. 

Not complaining.  It just seems ethereal, and therefore hard to trust.

Part of it was finally getting all the players healthy and then figuring out the best line combinations for them and having time playing together with their linemates game in and game out...

Also, Doan has taken a next huge step offensively and is showing he is more of a 60-70 point player than the 30-40 point player we thought we were getting.

I mean plenty examples of this...Saint Louis won the cup in a year they were there worst team in the NHL at the start of the New Year.

 

 

Edited January 16 by Big Guava

[oddoublee]

26 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

The main difference is they're getting better Goaltending. 

That, and Samuelson.

I guess if you want to you could say they're doing the whole "Learning to win" thing... Holding on to leads, stuff like that. 

But in terms of shots generated, shots allowed, scoring chances generated, scoring chances allowed, things like expected goals, Fenwick, corsy... They're not all that different from last year. 

We just have to hope the goaltending stays above average... No really sign saying it shouldn't though. We'll see.

This is why we should struggle to rely on analytics too heavily ..

It is clear the team is playing faster and more deliberate this year. At times, they are absolutely smothering with their speed. 

To my eye...there is nothing similar about this team to last years team in how they play. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

Was it just before Thanksgiving that they started that big streak?  I guess thats my point.  Just before, and then at the start of the streak, nothing notable changed other than the on ice results. 

Not complaining.  It just seems ethereal, and therefore hard to trust.

I understand the sentiment.  What has changed is the team’s spine.  I don’t mean the centers, I mean their compete.  Last season and earlier this season they lose a game like last night 5-3 after going down 3-2 against a good team like the Habs have become.  Gallagher gets under their skin, they take a few bad penalties and fold like a cheap tent.  Instead they battled, tied the game, took the lead and won the game.  They have finally learned how to win.  

Edited January 16 by GASabresIUFAN

[mjd1001]

37 minutes ago, oddoublee said:

This is why we should struggle to rely on analytics too heavily ..

It is clear the team is playing faster and more deliberate this year. At times, they are absolutely smothering with their speed. 

To my eye...there is nothing similar about this team to last years team in how they play. 

And I really don't see it that way. 

I see them executing a critical situations better, but in terms of their up and down the ice, it's similar to me as last year. 

Some players are better.. having Norris helps, Sam Wilson is legit playing better.. 

But on the other hand, overall, Dahlin looks a little worse this year OVERALl, where he's not as dominant as he was last year... Overall, Tage seems a little less dangerous with the puck, and while still one of the best skaters it looks like Tuch is having more games where he's not noticeable.

There are pluses and minus is this year, along with last year. 

If I really think hard about it, they're just getting the critical save and the critical goal at the critical point of the game more than they were last year to me.

[Porous Five Hole]

2 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

 

Some players are better.. having Norris helps, Sam Wilson is legit playing better.. 

 

Big fan of him too 😜

[Gatorman0519]

The hope: They suddenly figured things out and they are a top 10 team. The likely reality: they are overachieving on a hot streak and will eventually come back to earth and it's going to be a struggle to get a wildcard. Hey, but at least its January and we are relevant.

[French Collection]

46 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Sam Wilson is legit playing better.. 

Don Cherry quotes still hanging around. He called Ulf “Sammy Wilson”.

[John Tucker]

Crazy thing is, we've been playing amazing but haven't really moved up the standings a whole lot.  All the teams around us have been keeping pace unfortunately.  Gonna be a dogfight for those wild card spots.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, John Tucker said:

Crazy thing is, we've been playing amazing but haven't really moved up the standings a whole lot.  All the teams around us have been keeping pace unfortunately.  Gonna be a dogfight for those wild card spots.

16th to 6th ISN'T moving up the standings a whole lot?  They did that in barely over 5 weeks.  Seems a pretty big jump.  MHO.  YMMV.

[dudacek]

38 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

The hope: They suddenly figured things out and they are a top 10 team. The likely reality: they are overachieving on a hot streak and will eventually come back to earth and it's going to be a struggle to get a wildcard. Hey, but at least its January and we are relevant.

It is, quite literally, one of the longest extended hot streaks in Sabres history.

The TSN broadcast said the Sabres have gone 14-2 twice in team history: once in '05-06, once in '06-07. The French Connection teams didn't do it, the Scotty teams didn't do it. Neither did the Patty teams or the Dom teams.

Now they're 15-2.

It begs the question: how many games does it take before it stops being a streak?

[Big Guava]

35 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Don Cherry quotes still hanging around. He called Ulf “Sammy Wilson”.

Lying in bed just like Sammy Wilson did?

[dudacek]

Just now, Taro T said:

16th to 6th ISN'T moving up the standings a whole lot?  They did that in barely over 5 weeks.  Seems a pretty big jump.  MHO.  YMMV.

It needed to be said.

@John Tucker isn't wrong about the dogfight, but their sudden climb from last-place is highly unusual in the NHL.

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

52 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It is, quite literally, one of the longest extended hot streaks in Sabres history.

The TSN broadcast said the Sabres have gone 14-2 twice in team history: once in '05-06, once in '06-07. The French Connection teams didn't do it, the Scotty teams didn't do it. Neither did the Patty teams or the Dom teams.

Now they're 15-2.

It begs the question: how many games does it take before it stops being a streak?

It's not longer a hot streak.  They are 5-2 in the last 7 outscoring opponents 29 to 22.  It's not just being hot, it's better all-around play.  The goalies are playing solidly.  The are working hard on both end even when the shots aren't coming.  They have learned to win and won 3 of the 5 games with their B/C level game. 

Edited January 16 by GASabresIUFAN

[French Collection]

27 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It's not longer a hot streak.  They are 5-2 in the last 7 outscoring opponents 29 to 22.  It's not just better all-around play.  The goalies are playing solidly.  The are working hard on both end even when the shots aren't coming.  They have learned to win and won 3 of the 5 games with their B/C level game. 

As others have noticed, their ability to close out games despite opponents pushing hard is giving them confidence.

[Taro T]

47 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It needed to be said.

@John Tucker isn't wrong about the dogfight, but their sudden climb from last-place is highly unusual in the NHL.

 

And it doesn't take into consideration that only the 2 FLA teams have played fewer games than Buffalo.  Win the games in hand they have and they COULD have the 3rd best record in the East behind only Tampa and Carolina.

And they also could be at least 4 points ahead of the 3rd team in the WC race.  Not bad for 6 weeks of work.

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

And it doesn't take into consideration that only the 2 FLA teams have played fewer games than Buffalo.  Win the games in hand they have and they COULD have the 3rd best record in the East behind only Tampa and Carolina.

Right now, they are 9th in the league in terms of point percentage.

Win their games in hand and they catch Montreal, Detroit and the Islanders, and close to within two points of the Knights, Wild and the Hurricanes.

They sit in 10th in terms of what actually counts, and are still very much on the playoff bubble,. But at the same time they've literally climbed into the periphery of the NHL's top 4.

This isn't real life.