Sabes Left to Wonder Why

by David Oleksy on Apr 13, 2009 10:14 AM EDT

It's another season finished and another season of the Sabres missing the playoffs. There were times this season when the Sabres not only looked like a playoff team but possibly a top four team. There were other times when this team looked like they couldn't beat the Niagara University hockey team. As BlackCapricorn stated in the comments, they were consistently inconsistent.

I'm not sure it was as much inconsistency as we make it out to be. It was more about playing to the level of their competition. This has been the trend all season and it eventually did this team in at the end. A win here or there against the weaker teams in the league and this is a playoff team. I wrote a piece way back in November about this very topic and it still rings true right now.

When it's all said and done, the Sabres finished four points behind the New York Rangers that finished in seveth place and two points behind the Montreal Canadiens who finished in eighth. Both the Rangers and Canadiens won the games against the weaker teams in the Eastern Conference and the Sabres wasted those opportunities.

Of the five teams that finished behind the Sabres in the Eastern Conference, they had a winning record against only the Toronto Maple Leafs.

	Buffalo	Montreal	NY Rangers
Ottawa	1-4-1, 3pts	4-2-0, 8pts	2-2-0, 4pts
Toronto	5-1-0, 10pts	3-3-0, 6ts	1-1-2, 4pts
Atlanta	0-0-4, 4pts	2-2-0, 4pts	2-0-2, 6pts
Tampa Bay	2-2-0, 4pts	2-2-0,4pts	4-0-0, 8ts
NY Islanders	2-2-0, 4pts	2-0-2, 6pts	5-1-0, 10pts
Total	10-9-5, 25pts	13-9-2, 29pts	14-4-4, 32pts

By looking at the chart above it's easy to see where the Sabres chances were wasted this season. If the Sabres get a couple more wins against teams like Atlanta or Ottawa than they are still playing right now and there are no talks about who will or won't get fired (more on that later tonight).

There are other reasons that the Sabres missed the playoffs for the second season in a row and the fifth time in seven seasons. Ryan Miller missing a month of hockey hurt this team considerably. It may be the wrong mix of players, it may be poor coaching, it could even be the injury to Thomas Vanek. All those reasons could have contributed to missing the playoffs but two more wins against the worst of the East would have made a big difference.

It's never a good thing when your team misses the playoffs but it;s especially painful with this Sabres team. I already noted how poor they were against the weaker teams in the Eastern Conference but they were equally as good against the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres were 19-14-3 against the eight teams that are still alive in the Eastern Conference and 22-15-3 against the teams that finished ahead of them in the standings. They had a winning record against five of the playoff teams and only had a losing record against the Flyers.

	Sabres Record	Overall Record
Boston	4-2-0	53-19-10
Washington	2-2-0	50-24-8
New Jersey	2-2-0	51-27-4
Pittsburgh	2-1-1	45-28-9
Philadelphia	0-4-0	44-27-11
Carolina	2-1-1	45-30-7
NY Rangers	3-1-0	43-30-9
Montreal	4-1-1	41-30-11

As much as we criticize this team for a lack of talent, a lack of desire or a lack of consistency there is no denying the talent on this team. You don't beat good teams without talent and this team can beat anyone (except the Flyers, Red Wings and Ducks) on any given night. They have the next five months to figure out the problem and I hope they do. Too muc talent to miss the playoffs every year.

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Comments

Definately some tweaking

I still say we should try and trade for or sign a high priced C or Wing man (D.O. etc… can probabyl say which is more pressing and possible suitors) and at least one more solid defender.

I still think a few guys like Sekera/Kaleta will continue to grow and be good for us over the years. Players like Hecht and Pominville get me concerned – Hecht specifically. I still think Pominville is a good player – but he needs guys around him. When he’s the main man on the line it doens’t work out so well.

Numinen, Hecht, Pominville, Spacek, Moore, Backup G are all players/positions that will have to be looked at for potential upgrades.

Long boring offseason – if we would have been in the race we could have surprised a few teams thats for sure.

The rest of you go get the goods on Stan. His mom grounded him once for setting something on fire. Let's find out what that something was and then lie and say it was a puppy.

by J2 on Apr 13, 2009 11:12 AM EDT reply actions

Heart. Leadership. Commitment.

Easier said than done. But that’s what it takes.

Ya listening, Darcy?

http://hockey-sense.today.com A blog dedicated to the greatest sport in the universe.

by DamageInc95 on Apr 13, 2009 1:42 PM EDT reply actions

Whoo hoo! Shout out in the main article- thanks D.O.!

I agree this team has talent. I have never advocated blowing it up because I do think they are a few players away from a really deep run. Are those players going to come from the AHL, free agency? Probably a little of column a and b (along with some duck sauce).

Also, I think their record against the dregs and the playoff teams is emblematic of their consistent inconsistency. Did they go 22-15-3 against the dregs? No. If they played consistent hockey (instead of down to their opponent’s level) they are in, as your stats show.

At least the playoff matchups will be entertaining this year. Keep up the good work D.O.!

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Apr 14, 2009 10:28 AM EDT reply actions

More size

I’d like bigger, tougher wings. Let’s not hang on to the injury-prone like Connolly: great player but he’s hurt too often. Since we need an enforcer, let’s replace Peters with get two guys who can score a few goals, too, and don’t have to sit out as healthy scratches. When the puck is in our end, let our opponents be physically aware that we actually have defensemen there, too.

by gbvinaz2 on Apr 14, 2009 7:41 PM EDT reply actions