The Buffalo Sabres are back, baby!
By the Numbers 📊
Record: 30-23-4 (64 points) | Division: 4th | League: 18th
5v5 Expected Goals-For Percentage (xGF%): 49.3% (22nd in the NHL)
5v5 Goals-For Percentage (GF%): 50.8% (17th in the NHL)
Quick Hits
Sabres place Alex Tuch on injured reserve; Vinnie Hinostroza re-called from Rochester (AHL) in his place
Lightning’s Erik Cernak suspended two games for elbowing Sabres’ Kyle Okposo during Thursday’s game
The Evolution of a Team
It has been no secret that the Buffalo Sabres have struggled against teams who are great at denying zone entries.
Heading into the game against Tampa Bay on Thursday, Buffalo had an 0-7-1 record against the league’s five best teams in denying zone entries according to Corey Sznajder’s tracked data.
Well guess which two teams ranked 4th and 5th in denying zone entries? That’s right, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
A major critique of this Sabres squad after their most recent loss to the Carolina Hurricanes (the league’s best team at denying zone entries) was their indecisiveness with the puck. Too much patience led to far too many turnovers.
One way to beat teams that are good at killing the rush early is to quickly counterattack. Just start the rush before the team is even prepared to defend.
Watch how Tage Thompson sprints out of the zone as soon as he notices the rebounded puck heading safely into the Sabres’ possession. Jeff Skinner hits him with a beautiful stretch pass and the rest is history:
Even a Hail Mary pass like this somehow worked. Maybe not the ideal play but it shows the team’s willingness to push up ice quickly and cause chaos:
Then here’s yet another example of turning the puck up ice quickly as Henri Jokiharju kills the Panthers’ entry and immediately sends the puck up ice:
We even saw a few plays like this where the Sabres would enter the zone with a timely pass, cut back as the opponent overloads one side, and use timing differential to enter open space with speed at just the right moment:
The added dimension to the rush offense is necessary as not every opportunity in the NHL will derive from a cleanly scripted play that happens off a regroup. As the Sabres continue to add decisiveness and inventiveness to their game, the more successful they will become against some of the league’s more aggressive teams.
Lyubushkin, Anderson make history
Ilya Lyubushkin scored an incredibly fun shorthanded overtime winner to take down the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime this past Thursday. It also happened to be the 1st goal of his season and the 4th goal of his 254-game NHL career:
When was the last time an NHL defenseman scored a shorthanded overtime winner? 1937:
In the words of Ilya Lyubushkin, “I just see straight line, just go (as) fast as possible.”
We also saw Craig Anderson make history just a day later when he became the oldest goalie to ever record a 50+ save game in the NHL. He posted an incredible 53-save performance against the Florida Panthers, allowing just 1 goal on 6.82 expected goals against according to Evolving-Hockey.
Down on the Farm: Jiri Kulich is good at hockey
Jiri Kulich ripped off a very impressive 3-point (2 G, 1 A) performance on Friday night as the Rochester Americans took down the Laval Rocket 8-4. His high-end shooting ability was on full display:
Isak Rosén matched Jiri Kulich’s 3-point night with one of his own on Saturday night as the Amerks took down the Springfield Thunderbirds 7-1. Jiri Kulich would also add two points in this victory:
Game Preview: Capitals @ Sabres, 2/26/23, 1:00 PM ET
It has been a very long time since there has been a meaningful hockey game this late in the season in Buffalo
Capitals by the Numbers 📊
Record: 29-26-6 (64 points) | Division: 6th | League: 21st
5v5 Expected Goals-For Percentage (xGF%): 51.1% (16th in the NHL)
5v5 Goals-For Percentage (GF%): 49.5% (19th in the NHL)
Scouting the Capitals
Ovechkin: he is the one who must be watched at all times. 32 goals in 55 games this season, the man is still as dangerous as ever
Win the Rush: the Capitals allow a zone entry 60.9% of the time which ranks 23rd in the NHL. They are fairly solid in assuring these entries don’t lead to chances, so the Sabres need to play quick and capitalize on the rush
Players to Watch
Alexander Ovechkin (WSH): I know that I already brought up Alexander Ovechkin once, but he is the greatest goalscorer that this game has ever seen. It is worth taking in every remaining second of his career as he chases Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record
Jeff Skinner (BUF): talk about a guy who has just been playing some fantastic hockey as of late. Skinner has combined with Thompson for some incredible goals these past few games and has 8 points in his last 6 games. He is also just 6 points away from setting a career high in points. We will see what life is like fore these two without Tuch