[Buffalo News] Au cœur de la LNH : réflexion sur les points du calendrier 2024-25 des Sabres à un moment calme de l’intersaison
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seeldoger47
@Sabres de Buffalo
[Buffalo News] Au cœur de la LNH : réflexion sur les points du calendrier 2024-25 des Sabres à un moment calme de l’intersaison
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seeldoger47
1 Comment
>1. Lots of multi-game runs, home and away: The Sabres have eight road trips of at least three games next season − and that’s the most in franchise history, according to the team pages of Hockey-Reference.com. They have four runs with four straight road games, although two of them likely will have a trip back to Buffalo after the first contest before jetting to far-off locales for the remaining games.
>2. Division matchups: Until proven otherwise, let’s assume Florida, Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay are Atlantic Division playoff teams and the Sabres are again fighting Detroit and Ottawa for one wild-card spot. Remember that you play five of your seven division opponents four times and two of them just three times, so now let’s compare.
>The Red Wings and Senators meet defending Stanley Cup champion Florida only three times while the Sabres get the Panthers for four, including twice at home in October. The Sabres get Tampa Bay, the weakest-looking playoff club, just once at home while the Sens and Wings have the Lightning twice at home. Buffalo has Toronto and Tampa for three games while Ottawa’s three-gamers are Florida and Toronto and Detroit’s are Florida and Boston.
>3. Less Metro Division Madness: The Sabres are 0-8-2 in their last 10 trips to Carolina but only have to go to PNC Arena once this season (Feb. 27). They are 1-3-1 in their last five trips to New Jersey but don’t go there at all this year because their lone « road » game against the Devils is in Czechia. So that means no return game for Lindy Ruff in Newark’s Prudential Center this season.
>5. No easy path to a fast start: We heard players at locker cleanout day, newcomers on recent video calls and Ruff all talk about how a quick jump from the gate is a key to this season. The Sabres were 20-7-3 in their three previous Octobers until last year’s 4-5 slog. They are just 16-32-7 in the last four Novembers, which has been the real problem.
This October is no fun, with two home games against the Panthers and visits by Dallas and Detroit in addition to the Kings. Better do well on that mid-month road trip to Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago. November has a softer run of games at home but the road trips will be challenging (Rangers, Islanders, Detroit, Philly and the three California teams).