12 Questions For Christmas - #3

by Calvin on Dec 23, 2011 12:00 PM EST

Buffalo Sabres knocked the Toronto Maple Leafs down plenty last night, but couldn't knock them out. (Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images)

Losing is just frustrating - granted it's not as bad as the times the team showed no heart and lost, but it's still galling to lose, especially to division rivals after playing a good game with very limited resources at hand. What's worse is that this current 3-game slide has all been on the road, where the Sabres have been better. And even worse than that is Thomas Vanek is hurt. Coach Lindy Ruff is being cagey, proclaiming him day-to-day with an upper body injury, but that could be anything.

While we're talking about injuries, the Sabres are now tied with the Wild and the Jets for most skaters (30) and players dressed (33). If you still haven't sent off your lists to Santa, please add health regeneration or medic kits for the Sabres to them (depending on whether you're a MW3 or BF3 fan). Three days to Christmas, so on to today's question on the '12 Questions For Christmas' series.

#3 - Who will lead the Buffalo Sabres in +/- at the end of the season?

Going by the projections (as per after the Senators game), Marc-Andre Gragnani is on track to lead the team. Not a popular choice by any means as the fanbase seems divided whether they want to give the rookie time to mature and turn into a solid offensive d-man, or trade him while memories of last year's playoff series against the Flyers are still kind of fresh, like the slightly-dry sushi at the Wegman's deli counter around nine in the evening.

Gragnani was the topic in a previous question as well, so this is less a debate of his abilities and more an indictment of the Sabres' defensive play overall. Currently Gragnani is at +11. In second place are Nathan Gerbe and Jochen Hecht tied at +4, and both injured. Next is Vanek at +2 and also injured. Andrej Sekera and Paul Gaustad follow at +1, and that concludes the number of Sabres on the positive side. If that isn't depressing I don't know what is.

So we're putting the question out there, who do you feel will be leading the team in +/- by the end of the season, and why? While you still have your thinking caps on, what will the magic number be?*

* Sabres +/- leaders after the lockout: '10-'11 - Steve Montador +16; '09-'10 - Jochen Hecht +14; '08-'09 - Tim Connolly +12; '07-'08 - Jason Pominville +16; '06-'07 - Thomas Vanek +47; '05-'06 - Dmitri Kalinin +14.

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I think MAGs will lead at the end of the season

He has the best relative Corsi (18.9) and on-ice Corsi (9.75) for regular starting players (right behind Joe Finley), which means that the play is in the opponents zone when he is on the ice. Due to that reason, I would think his +/- would improve as the season progresses if he gets ice time like he had earlier in the year.

"We’re gonna win the Stanley Cup. Then, you know what, we’re gonna win it again,"
-Terry Pegula

by bgred105 on Dec 23, 2011 12:11 PM EST reply actions

agreed. He just needs to be a bit more careful with his neutral zone play and stop hessitating when it comes to shooting on the power play. I think we have been really hard on Grags this season and the turnovers and mistakes that he’s made are in the forefront of our minds. But the Numbers you just posted don’t lie and he’s still learning the position at an NHL level, and play D in the NHL is probably the hardest position to learn and it takes years to be considered good. Look and Andrej Sekera as an example

"If we needed any more motivation to win a Cup sooner than later, we've got one now," Black said. "I really want to listen to the game that RJ calls when he finally gets to shout out, 'Buffalo wins the Stanley Cup.'"
"Do it or Die Trying."

by FloridaBuffalo on Dec 23, 2011 12:16 PM EST up reply actions

Beats the Hell Out of Me

The way things are going, the leader may be someone with a minus 10. Seriously, Gragnani is likely to remain the leader for the rest of season. There really is no team, just a group of undiscaplined, poorly-coached individuals milling aroung on the ice. We haven’t seen bottom yet as the downward spiral continues into the new year.

by Geolover on Dec 23, 2011 1:08 PM EST reply actions

Have a happy holiday Geo.

"We’re gonna win the Stanley Cup. Then, you know what, we’re gonna win it again,"
-Terry Pegula

by bgred105 on Dec 23, 2011 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Thanks for the writeup, Mr. Scrooge.

Enjoys long walks on the beach, Molson Canadian, and making the playoffs.

by AcesNines on Dec 23, 2011 2:11 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I can’t help it, I’ve been a mostly disappointed fan of the Sabres for 41 years, and, unfortunately, I don’t drink KoolAide or see the World through rose-colored glasses. I am a realist and I see things the way they; not the way I wish they were.

by Geolover on Dec 23, 2011 2:29 PM EST up reply actions

No you’re a pessimist. You are blatantly negative at every chance you can be. We get it you hate the sabres now shut it.

by FloridaBuffalo on Dec 23, 2011 2:55 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs

Look at the standings and take another sip of KoolAide.

by Geolover on Dec 23, 2011 5:50 PM EST up reply actions

Look at the injured list and take another sip of the hateraid.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
2012 Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan: 2nd place

by Ogre39666 on Dec 23, 2011 6:05 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Take a look

At the article yourself,jack…Sabres now tied with the Wild for most skaters this year at 30…the first place team with lots of injuries,eh? What could be a reason?
Well lots of injuries didnt stop them, so might it be the elevating of a good AHL coach from the organization to work with young guys he helped train in the minors? Did we miss it with Kevin Dineen ?
Naaah , just another Lindy hater here.
Second half of the second DECADE behind the bench, that’s the secret. I lack patience that’s all.
Pittsburgh fall off much minus their core? Nope.
Koolaid references indeed.

by boonies191 on Dec 24, 2011 3:42 PM EST up reply actions

MIkko Koivu hadn't missed a game until last week.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard hadn’t missed a game until last week.
Danny Heatley hasn’t missed more than a game or 2.
Setoguchi hadn’t missed a game until 2 weeks ago.

Not all situations are the same. We count on our depth. They count on their top-end talent. We’ve been missing our depth in addition to our top-end talent. For the most part they haven’t been missing their top-end talent (except for Backstrom but they have Harding to fall back on). Expecting a team to succeed with a lot of injuries is unrealistic. The Wild are the exception to the rule – and surprise surprise, now that they have had Koivu out, they’ve gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 and been passed by Chicago.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
2012 Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan: 2nd place

by Ogre39666 on Dec 24, 2011 5:27 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

You were throwing bombs the past couple of years no matter the sabres place in the standings. Why don’t you just quit it or are you just trying to get back the “biggest troll of dbtb” title back from 4honors and Winnie. You do realize there is a rule against being blatantly negative on this site?

by FloridaBuffalo on Dec 23, 2011 7:19 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs