The NHL.com Fantasy team continues to cover the latest league trends and storylines through the lens of NHL EDGE Puck and player tracking statistics. Today we look at the underlying metrics of Buffalo swords this season.
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The Buffalo Sabres, who fired general manager Kevyn Adams on Monday and replaced him with Jarmo Kekäläinenhave underlying metrics that suggest they could improve in the coming months of the season.
The Sabres, who have the longest active Stanley Cup playoff drought in the NHL (14 seasons; last appearance: 2011), are in the midst of their first three-game winning streak of the season. That said, Buffalo has trailed the second most this season (791:43), ahead of the Nashville Predators (812:49).
The Sabres, after coach Lindy Ruff joined the franchise for a second term, led the NHL in first-period goals (92) and were tied for the best shooting percentage at 5-on-5 (10.6) last season, but still missed the playoffs. This season, Buffalo has remained an inconsistent team, but is only six points behind the Eastern Conference wild-card spots at the time of its general manager change.
Buffalo, who was the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (selected Rasmus Dahlin) and 2021 (selected Owen Power), has made significant trades in recent seasons involving big-name players like Jack Eichel (to the Vegas Golden Knights), Sam Reinhart And Brandon Montour (to the Florida Panthers in separate deals) and JJ Peterka (in Mammoth of Utah). Although some current Sabers players involved in these trades have had productive tenures (e.g. Alex Tuch, Josh Doan), Eichel, Reinhart and Montour each won the Stanley Cup with his new team.
