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.