What we need is a(nother) winning streak

[Stoner]

Even during this Pegula Reign of Error, the Sabres have had winning streaks (defined as three or more wins in a row).

11–12 — Two four-game winning streaks

12–13 — Four three-game winning streaks

13–14 — One three-game winning streak

14–15 — One four-game winning streak

15–16 — Two three-game winning streaks

16–17 — Two three-game winning streaks

17–18 — One three-game winning streak

18–19 — One three-game winning streak and one 10-game winning streak

19–20 — Four three-game winning streaks

20–21 — Zippo

21–22 — One three-game winning streak

That's a lot of winning!

FTR, they've had 16 three-game winning streaks that failed to extend to four games. Weird.

It's time for a four-game winning streak!

Edited March 25, 2022 by PASabreFan

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Why only 4?

[Marvin]

ONE!  TWO!  THREE!  WE WANT FOUR!

(C-D-E-F)

[Stoner]

17 minutes ago, The Ghost of Doohickie said:

Why only 4?

Who said only? You have to have four before five. Also a nine-game winning streak contains a four-game winning streak. Several of them, actually.

[Thorner]

Starting tonight for sure! 

[Berg]

Winning streak with Dell? Fairytale

 

[SwampD]

I'll settle for a win.

[Taro T]

46 minutes ago, Berg said:

Winning streak with Dell? Fairytale

 

UPL's between the pipes tonight.

[msw2112]

Let's start by winning ONE game and go from there.

[SwampD]

And so it begins...

[Thorner]

48 minutes ago, SwampD said:

And so it begins...

[msw2112]

I didn't see last night's game, but listened to the radio broadcast of the 2nd half of it.  From what I heard, and from what the statistics say, the Sabres played one of their best, most complete games of the season.  They got both 1) NHL-level competent goaltending; and 2) real offense IN THE SAME GAME!  I think that Winnipeg even played their starting goalie.  Maybe we are on to something.  The way UPL started the season, nobody saw this coming.  UPL and Tokarski, plus Anderson, if and when he comes back, could actually provide the NHL quality goaltending we've been so badly needing.  

It's only one game, but it is encouraging and something to build on.  Plus, UPL has now peformed well for 3 or 4 games in a row, so maybe it's not an anomoly.

[Stoner]

And a decent chance to go for a four-game winning streak on Saturday... wasted.

[Wyldnwoody44]

If they keep playing like last night, we can start counting the losing streaks 😭😭

[Taro T]

3 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

If they keep playing like last night, we can start counting the losing streaks 😭😭

Even if they pick up their play losing streaks are likely.

Pretty sure they don't get an opponent out of the playoff picture until St. Patty's day and that's on a Western Canada road trip which usually is not conducive to good things happening.

[Norcal]

Granato comments re: last night. 

 

[thewookie1]

2 hours ago, Norcal said:

Granato comments re: last night. 

 

Likely due to their age, need no holds bar every night

[Digger]

2 hours ago, Norcal said:

Granato comments re: last night. 

 

I listened to this and thought it was a pretty weak statement by Granato.  They were beaten soundly in the previous game against Ottawa 5-0 not that long ago (Jan 25th).  That should have had the team highly motivated to come to play against a team that is around the same spot in the standings.  Anderson's first game back playing in Ottawa is another reason that they should have been motivated to play hard (out of respect for Anderson).

[Pimlach]

15 hours ago, Digger said:

I listened to this and thought it was a pretty weak statement by Granato.  They were beaten soundly in the previous game against Ottawa 5-0 not that long ago (Jan 25th).  That should have had the team highly motivated to come to play against a team that is around the same spot in the standings.  Anderson's first game back playing in Ottawa is another reason that they should have been motivated to play hard (out of respect for Anderson).

Yes.   Losing to Ottawa and Detroit pains me.  
 

Teams like Florida, Tampa, Toronto and even Boston are way ahead of us.  Falling behind Detroit and now Ottawa is depressing.  
 

There is a long road to be a top team in the division.   We really need goaltending next season to jump start winning, or better yet, to avoid the long painful losing streaks we are accustomed to.  

[mjd1001]

37 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

There is a long road to be a top team in the division.   We really need goaltending next season to jump start winning, or better yet, to avoid the long painful losing streaks we are accustomed to.  

I agree with you that good goaltending is the easiest/quickest way to get better fast, as getting a good goaltender involves only one player. However, as a fan I am more interested in seeing this team score more goals overall than I am in seeing them allow less.

As of me writing this, the Sabres are 7th from the bottom in goals per game allowed, and 8th from the bottom in goals per game scored.  In terms of pure goal numbers, they are 69 goals allowed behind the best team in the league allowing goals.....and 71 goals behind the best scoring team in the league.

So, they need to improve equally in both areas.  While again, getting a good goalie would be quicker, I'd rather see them lean  more toward the offensive side than the D-side of things.  Either way to be a truly top team....through 50 games they need to 'flip' about 70 goals from where they are now..a combination of what is scored vs what is allowed.  Top playoff teams should be about +30 or better in goals for vs allowed...the Sabres currently are -38.

Break it down further, the Sabres currently are at .900 for team save percentage.  League average is about .905.  To break into the top 10 (I'd consider that good) you need .910  Top 5 is .913-.914.   Lets say the Sabres got one of the top goalies in the league, and his save percentage was well above .910..so that when you include games played by the backup, you would get the Sabres to .910 as a team.

If everything else was the same, and the Sabres had a team save percentage of .910 (which would make them top 10 in the league) instead of what it is now...they would have allowed 17 less goals than they have so far. Break that down however you want (there are tons of ways to do it) but according to league averages, that would likely make them a 50 point team right now instead of a 40 point team. (5 more wins). But still 8 points out of a playoff spot in the east.

They need a better goaltender than can play 60+ games and be a top 10 guy.  But that won't matter or change anything until they can at least slightly reduce quality shot attempts against that goalie....and to be able to score a LOT more goals also.

[sabresparaavida]

Sabres are currently on a 3 game winning streak,  5-1 in their last 6 and 7-3 in the last 10. 

Of those 10 teams we’ve faced, the only ones not currently in a playoff spot are the Vegas Knights and the Canucks who are within 3 points of a playoff spot.

[Stoner]

Maybe if they finally make it four I'll get a little excited. (But probably only if the Mule Kiss becomes/stays a thing.)

[woods-racer]

It's their second three game win streak this season. 7 wins in 10 games in March so far. I don't give them much chance at getting a win in the next 4 games, but if they do they will be above the Deluca .500 for March.