Crunching Numbers: Sabres Dominate Oilers at Even Strength

by David Oleksy on Nov 12, 2009 9:01 PM EST Comment 1 comment

Buffalo Sabres center Jochen Hecht, of Germany, left, is congratulated by Sabres' center Paul Gaustad and right winger Jason Pominville, right, after scoring a goal during the third period of the NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Buffalo won 3-1.(AP Photo/Don Heupel)

4 months ago: Buffalo Sabres center Jochen Hecht, of Germany, left, is congratulated by Sabres' center Paul Gaustad and right winger Jason Pominville, right, after scoring a goal during the third period of the NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Buffalo won 3-1.(AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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Lost in the discussion of the Clarke MacArthur hit on Liam Reddox was a pretty good game played by the Buffalo Sabres. When playing at even strength the Sabres dominated much in the way we expected they would. A string of penalties in the second and third period limited the Sabres even strength play and made the score much closer than it should have been.

The Sabres took five minor penalties in the second period and one minor and one major in the third period of the contest. Buffalo outshot the Oilers 14-8 in the first period but after the penalties started, the Oilers took over and actually outshot Buffalo 29-26 in the game. The Corsi numbers show that if the penalties didn't happen the Sabres would have beat the Oilers into submission.

		Game Stats
#	Player	Pos	TOI	+/-	FO%	Hits	GV	TK	BS
4	Steve Montador	D	17:22	1	-	0	0	0	1
9	Derek Roy	C	17:34	0	67%	0	2	0	0
10	Henrik Tallinder	D	18:53	0	-	0	0	0	0
13	Tim Kennedy	C	11:03	0	43%	1	0	0	0
19	Tim Connolly	C	19:44	2	45%	0	0	0	1
21	Drew Stafford	RW	13:47	2	-	1	1	0	0
25	Mike Grier	RW	13:20	0	-	0	0	0	1
26	Thomas Vanek	LW	14:15	2	-	1	0	0	0
28	Paul Gaustad	C	15:59	1	81%	0	0	0	0
29	Jason Pominville	RW	17:48	1	-	0	0	0	0
34	Chris Butler	D	20:13	1	-	2	0	1	1
36	Patrick Kaleta	RW	6:33	0	-	0	0	1	0
37	Matt Ellis	LW	5:23	0	-	0	0	0	0
41	Clarke MacArthur	LW	12:59	0	-	0	0	0	0
44	Andrej Sekera	D	17:34	2	-	0	0	0	1
52	Craig Rivet	D	20:05	2	-	0	2	0	0
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	17:06	1	83%	0	2	1	1
57	Tyler Myers	D	22:20	0	-	0	2	0	2
TOI = Total Time on Ice				GV = Giveaways
FO% = Faceoff percentage				TK = Takeaways
Hits = Total Hits				BS=Blocked Shots

			Even Strength Individual Stats						Even Strength On-Ice Totals
#	Player	Pos	EV TOI	G	A	Shots	S A/B	S Miss	SOGF	SOGA	SOG Diff	Tot SF	Tot SA	Corsi
4	Steve Montador	D	15:14	1	0	4	0	0	11	3	8	21	5	16
9	Derek Roy	C	11:21	0	0	2	2	2	8	3	5	17	6	11
10	Henrik Tallinder	D	13:24	0	0	0	0	0	4	9	-5	10	13	-3
13	Tim Kennedy	C	10:33	0	0	1	0	0	7	5	2	12	6	6
19	Tim Connolly	C	10:43	0	1	1	2	2	7	6	1	16	9	7
21	Drew Stafford	RW	10:09	1	0	1	1	0	7	5	2	16	8	8
25	Mike Grier	RW	8:08	0	0	1	2	1	3	4	-1	7	5	2
26	Thomas Vanek	LW	10:12	0	1	2	1	0	6	6	0	14	9	5
28	Paul Gaustad	C	7:14	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	5	6	-1
29	Jason Pominville	RW	11:16	0	0	2	0	0	8	2	6	16	4	12
34	Chris Butler	D	8:48	0	0	1	1	1	7	5	2	14	7	7
36	Patrick Kaleta	RW	5:45	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	4	3	1
37	Matt Ellis	LW	5:23	0	0	1	1	0	2	2	0	4	4	0
41	Clarke MacArthur	LW	9:33	0	0	2	0	1	8	2	6	16	5	11
44	Andrej Sekera	D	15:35	0	1	2	2	0	12	2	10	22	4	18
52	Craig Rivet	D	9:01	0	0	1	1	1	8	5	3	15	7	8
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	10:51	1	0	2	1	0	7	5	2	11	6	5
57	Tyler Myers	D	13:31	0	0	0	1	0	4	8	-4	9	12	-3
EV TOI = Even Strength time on ice								SOGA = Team shots against while on ice
EV TOI = Even Strength time on ice								SOG Diff = Difference shots on ice
S A/B = shots attempted and blocked								Tot SF = Total shots including blocked/missed
S Miss = Shots missed the net								Tot SA = Total Shots Ag. Including blocked/missed
SOGF = Team Shots while on ice								Corsi = Difference in Total Shots

The Corsi number is a statistic that what created by Sabres goalie coach JIm Corsi. It is the difference in total shots for and the total shots against. It factors in all shots that were on net, attempts that were blocked and shots that missed the net. The idea is that it is a better reflection on a players two-way play because it shows puck possesion as opposed to only shots on goal.

Keep in mind that the Corsi number will only give you an indication of a teams puck possesion. It is not an exact science but over time it can be a useful stat. In this case it gives us an idea of how good the Sabres were 5-on-5. The penalties, warranted or not, helped the Oilers get back in the game and you can bet the Sabres coaching staff will use these numbers to motivate the team on Friday. Taking penalties has not been a staple of this team and they need to play a more disciplined game if they want to earn a victory in either game this weekend.

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