A Performance Worth Recapping
November 5th, 2009 | by Vance |I don’t normally do recaps, that’s what the AP is for. But something about last night’s effort, especially coming off the heels of the stinker last Saturday, forced me to.
Aside from the return to the play that marked the club’s first 6 or so games, one thing stood out for me, one thing that I harp on constantly, one thing that these Sabres (outside of Goose) usually struggle with: the faceoff.
The Isles are a 51.6% faceoff team, and that’s after the Sabres beat them 39 times, out of 47 chances. Meaning last night, the Sabres had a FO% of 83%, by far the best of the season, against a team that is in the top 10 lineups in the dot.
The maligned Derek Roy went 14 of 14, Goose went a very strong 13 of 17, even Clarke MacArthur, a winger, went 5 of 5.
Best part? They only lost 3 offensive zone faceoffs all game, going 19 of 22 in the Islanders zone. The extra opportunities created off draws in the offensive zone work wonders, saves time on the PP, and keeps your opponents out of your own zone. Important stuff for the boys in blue and gold to be focusing on.
Is this truly a sign of improvement? If so, you have to be happy. As a matter of fact, as of right now, these Sabres, who were wallowing in the bottom 10 of faceoff percentage as of two weeks ago, have now risen all the way to 4th in the league, currently with a 52.6 win percentage.
Keep it up.
