Sabres Scoring: When?

Not to say the Sabres have been lighting the lamp like we’ve seen in years past, but hey, they are scoring more than they’re letting in, and in my book, that’s a win.  It just so happens, in the NHL’s book, that’s a win too.   So I thought I’d do a little statistical analysis, try to discern when the Sabres are getting their goals, and how that stacks up against the rest of the league (and no I did not include OT totals, so if the numbers seem off by a few percentage points, there’s your answer).

1st Period

2nd Period

3rd Period

Let’s make some inferences no? Well first off, those rankings still are pretty relative, due to the differences in games played, but, that’s why they’re percentages and not totals. So keep that in mind through this.

So, let’s take a look at those rankings. 3rd highest in the 1st period, 4th worst in the 2nd, and a mediocre 19th in the 3rd.  Well, we’ve always seen the Sabres to be fast starters, they seemingly always come flying out of the gate with a barrage of shots (especially this year) and chances.  With that said, we’ve also seen the Sabres come back earth more times than we’d like, whether due to sitting on a lead or just settling down.  That could help explain the 2nd period numbers.  The 3rd period is interesting, as some teams, like the LA Kings (with 4), are buoyed with empty netters, the Sabres have none.  That said, the Sabres are scoring almost a goal per 3rd period, which based on the record, is obviously icing the game away, which to me, is a plus.

So now let’s take a gander at the totals/percentages; these tell me one thing that these Sabres have been giving a more consistent effort each period than the past couple years.  13. 10. 11.  No outliers, no aberrations, just a consistent effort each period.  Compare that to say, the Maple Leafs; 5. 11. 15.  It’s easy to score 3rd period garbage goals when you’re down 4 and your opponent has already mailed it in.  We should be fortunate we’re not there.  Or even a “successful” team like the Flyers; 12. 22. 9.  Efforts like that aggravate me to no end.

Now that’s what I was able to piece out of those numbers, what other inferences can you all draw out of those numbers?  Let’s hear some ideas.  Look for a feature later this afternoon on the exactly opposite of this; goals against.

Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Stats