2018–19 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2018–19 Buffalo Sabres season was the 49th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1]
2018–19 Buffalo Sabres | |
---|---|
Division | 6th Atlantic |
Conference | 13th Eastern |
2018–19 record | 33–39–10 |
Home record | 21–15–5 |
Road record | 12–24–5 |
Goals for | 226 |
Goals against | 271 |
Team information | |
General manager | Jason Botterill |
Coach | Phil Housley |
Captain | Jack Eichel |
Alternate captains | Zach Bogosian Kyle Okposo |
Arena | KeyBank Center |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Rochester Americans (AHL) Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Jeff Skinner (40) |
Assists | Jack Eichel (54) |
Points | Jack Eichel (82) |
Penalty minutes | Zach Bogosian (52) |
Plus/minus | 4 tied (+1) |
Wins | Carter Hutton (18) |
Goals against average | Carter Hutton (3.00) |
After experiencing a ten-game winning streak in November that put them atop the NHL standings, the Sabres regressed sharply the rest of the season and were officially eliminated from playoff contention on March 23, 2019, after suffering a 7–4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens,[2] joining the 2016–17 Philadelphia Flyers as the only teams in NHL history to win 10 consecutive games and be eliminated from playoff contention.
With the Carolina Hurricanes clinching a playoff berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Sabres became the team with the longest active postseason appearance drought in the NHL at eight consecutive seasons,[3] about 1.5 years after their football counterparts, the Buffalo Bills, ended what was the longest active postseason appearance drought in the NFL at 17 consecutive seasons.[4][5] On April 7, 2019, the Sabres fired Phil Housley,[6] who became the fifth head coach to be fired since the Pegulas bought the team from Tom Golisano in February 2011.[7][8]
Standings
Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | p – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 62 | 16 | 4 | 56 | 325 | 222 | +103 | 128 |
2 | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 47 | 259 | 215 | +44 | 107 |
3 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 46 | 286 | 251 | +35 | 100 |
4 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 96 |
5 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 36 | 32 | 14 | 33 | 267 | 280 | −13 | 86 |
6 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 226 | 271 | −45 | 76 |
7 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 29 | 227 | 277 | −50 | 74 |
8 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 29 | 47 | 6 | 29 | 242 | 302 | −60 | 64 |
Pos | Div | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ME | x – Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 44 | 245 | 223 | +22 | 99 |
2 | ME | x – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 47 | 31 | 4 | 45 | 258 | 232 | +26 | 98 |
3 | AT | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 96 |
4 | AT | Florida Panthers | 82 | 36 | 32 | 14 | 33 | 267 | 280 | −13 | 86 |
5 | ME | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 37 | 37 | 8 | 34 | 244 | 281 | −37 | 82 |
6 | ME | New York Rangers | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 26 | 227 | 272 | −45 | 78 |
7 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 226 | 271 | −45 | 76 |
8 | AT | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 29 | 227 | 277 | −50 | 74 |
9 | ME | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 31 | 41 | 10 | 28 | 222 | 275 | −53 | 72 |
10 | AT | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 29 | 47 | 6 | 29 | 242 | 302 | −60 | 64 |
Schedule and results
Preseason
The preseason schedule was published on June 15, 2018.[9]
2018 preseason game log: 3–4–0 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–2–0) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Recap |
1 | September 17 | Buffalo | 4–1 | Columbus | Ullmark | 9,845 | 1–0–0 | Recap | |
2 | September 18 | Pittsburgh | 2–3 | Buffalo | Hutton | 15,602 | 2–0–0 | Recap | |
3 | September 21 | Buffalo | 3–5 | Toronto | Ullmark | 18,833 | 2–1–0 | Recap | |
4 | September 22 | Toronto | 3–2 | Buffalo | Hutton | 17,624 | 2–2–0 | Recap | |
5[a] | September 25 | Columbus | 4–2 | Buffalo | Wedgewood | — | 2–3–0 | Recap | |
6 | September 26 | Buffalo | 1–5 | Pittsburgh | Ullmark | 16,516 | 2–4–0 | Recap | |
7[b] | September 28 | Buffalo | 5–4 | NY Islanders | Hutton | — | 3–4–0 | Recap | |
Notes: |
Regular season
The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.[10]
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) |
Player statistics
As of April 6, 2019[11]
Skaters
Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Eichel | 77 | 28 | 54 | 82 | −11 | 26 |
Sam Reinhart | 82 | 22 | 43 | 65 | −10 | 16 |
Jeff Skinner | 82 | 40 | 23 | 63 | 0 | 36 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 82 | 9 | 35 | 44 | −13 | 34 |
Rasmus Ristolainen | 78 | 5 | 38 | 43 | −41 | 38 |
Conor Sheary | 78 | 14 | 20 | 34 | −18 | 12 |
Jason Pominville | 73 | 16 | 15 | 31 | −4 | 4 |
Kyle Okposo | 78 | 14 | 15 | 29 | −9 | 41 |
Evan Rodrigues | 74 | 9 | 20 | 29 | −7 | 25 |
Casey Mittelstadt | 77 | 12 | 13 | 25 | −19 | 10 |
Zach Bogosian | 65 | 3 | 16 | 19 | −5 | 52 |
Zemgus Girgensons | 72 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −11 | 17 |
Johan Larsson | 73 | 6 | 8 | 14 | −8 | 37 |
Jake McCabe | 59 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 35 |
Marco Scandella | 63 | 6 | 7 | 13 | −13 | 26 |
Vladimir Sobotka | 69 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −20 | 26 |
Tage Thompson | 65 | 7 | 5 | 12 | −22 | 20 |
Brandon Montour† | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −4 | 16 |
Nathan Beaulieu‡ | 30 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +1 | 32 |
Lawrence Pilut | 33 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −8 | 20 |
Casey Nelson | 38 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +1 | 13 |
Victor Olofsson | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +1 | 2 |
Alexander Nylander | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 4 |
Patrik Berglund | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −5 | 6 |
Scott Wilson | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −8 | 4 |
C. J. Smith | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Matt Hunwick | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −7 | 4 |
Remi Elie | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
Danny O'Regan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brendan Guhle‡ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 |
William Borgen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 |
Matt Tennyson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
Goaltenders
Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carter Hutton | 50 | 48 | 2,839 | 18 | 25 | 5 | 142 | 3.00 | 1541 | .908 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Linus Ullmark | 37 | 34 | 2,102 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 109 | 3.11 | 1146 | .905 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Transactions
The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.
Trades
Date | Details | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|
June 23, 2018 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 6th-round pick in 2018 |
To Buffalo Sabres 6th-round pick in 2019 |
[12] |
June 27, 2018 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Conditional 4th-round pick in 2019 |
To Buffalo Sabres Conor Sheary Matt Hunwick |
[13] |
July 1, 2018 | To St. Louis Blues Ryan O'Reilly |
To Buffalo Sabres Patrik Berglund Vladimir Sobotka Tage Thompson 1st-round pick in 2019 2nd-round pick in 2021 |
[14] |
August 2, 2018 | To Carolina Hurricanes Cliff Pu 2nd-round pick in 2019 3rd-round pick in 2020 6th-round pick in 2020 |
To Buffalo Sabres Jeff Skinner |
[15] |
October 1, 2018 | To Nashville Predators Nicholas Baptiste |
To Buffalo Sabres Jack Dougherty |
[16] |
November 10, 2018 | To Dallas Stars Taylor Fedun |
To Buffalo Sabres Conditional 7th-round pick in 2020 |
[17] |
January 17, 2019 | To Philadelphia Flyers Justin Bailey |
To Buffalo Sabres Taylor Leier |
[18] |
February 24, 2019 | To Anaheim Ducks Brendan Guhle Conditional 1st-round pick in 2019 |
To Buffalo Sabres Brandon Montour |
[19] |
February 25, 2019 | To Winnipeg Jets Nathan Beaulieu |
To Buffalo Sabres 6th-round pick in 2019 |
[20] |
Free agents
Date | Player | Team | Contract term | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
June 26, 2018 | Adam Wilcox | to Rochester Americans (AHL) | 1-year | [21] |
July 1, 2018 | Seth Griffith | to Winnipeg Jets | 1-year | [22] |
July 1, 2018 | Carter Hutton | from St. Louis Blues | 3-year | [23] |
July 1, 2018 | Chad Johnson | to St. Louis Blues | 1-year | [24] |
July 1, 2018 | Scott Wedgewood | from Los Angeles Kings | 1-year | [25] |
July 2, 2018 | Viktor Antipin | to Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) | 3-year | [26] |
July 2, 2018 | Mike Sislo | to New York Islanders | 1-year | [27] |
July 5, 2018 | Jordan Nolan | to St. Louis Blues | 1-year | [28] |
February 24, 2019 | Adam Wilcox | from Rochester Americans (AHL) | 1-year | [29] |
May 8, 2019 | Arttu Ruotsalainen | from Ilves (Liiga) | 3-year | [30] |
Waivers
Date | Player | Team | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
October 2, 2018 | Remi Elie | from Dallas Stars | [31] |
Contract terminations
|
Retirement
|
Signings
Date | Player | Contract term | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | Brandon Hickey | 2-year | [35] |
July 1, 2018 | Scott Wilson | 2-year | [36] |
July 9, 2018 | Rasmus Dahlin | 3-year | [37] |
July 12, 2018 | Sean Malone | 1-year | [38] |
July 15, 2018 | Justin Bailey | 1-year | [39] |
July 15, 2018 | Nicholas Baptiste | 1-year | [40] |
July 15, 2018 | Danny O'Regan | 1-year | [40] |
July 16, 2018 | C. J. Smith | 1-year | [41] |
September 19, 2018 | Sam Reinhart | 2-year | [42] |
October 17, 2018 | Matej Pekar | 3-year | [43] |
March 26, 2019 | Casey Fitzgerald | 2-year | [44] |
April 15, 2019 | Jacob Bryson | 3-year | [45] |
June 7, 2019 | Jeff Skinner | 8-year | [46] |
Draft picks
Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team (League) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Rasmus Dahlin | D | Sweden | Frolunda HC (SHL) |
2 | 32 | Mattias Samuelsson | D | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
4 | 94 | Matej Pekar | C | Czech Republic | Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) |
4 | 1171 | Linus Lindstrand Cronholm | D | Sweden | Malmo Redhawks J20 (SuperElit) |
5 | 125 | Miska Kukkonen | D | Finland | Ilves U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) |
7 | 187 | William Worge Kreu | D | Sweden | Linkopings HC J20 (SuperElit) |
Notes:
- The Minnesota Wild's fourth-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 30, 2017 that sent Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a third-round pick to Minnesota in exchange for Jason Pominville, Marco Scandella and this pick.[47]
References
- National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
- Farrell, Sean (March 23, 2019). "Canadiens defeat Sabres, pad lead for second wild card in East". NHL.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
Sam Reinhart, Alexander Nylander, Marco Scandella and Jack Eichel scored for Buffalo (31-34-9), which was eliminated from playoff contention.
- Kaplan, Emily (April 5, 2019). "Canes clinch playoff berth, snap 10-year drought". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
The Buffalo Sabres now hold the NHL's longest postseason drought. The Sabres have not made the playoffs since the 2010-11 season.
- Wine, Steven (December 31, 2017). "Buffalo Bills' 17-year playoff drought ends in dramatic fashion". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- "With NFL's longest playoff drought over, rest is gravy for Bills". ESPN.com. December 31, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Blackburn, Pete (April 7, 2019). "Buffalo Sabres fire coach Phil Housley one day after he said he expected to be back with team". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Filipowski, Nick (April 7, 2019). "Four Coaches To Replace Phil Housley". WIVB. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Fink, James (February 21, 2011). "Pegula set to take ownership of Sabres". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- "Sabres announce 2018 preseason schedule". NHL.com. June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- "Sabres announce 2018-19 regular-season schedule". NHL.com. June 21, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- "Buffalo Sabres Stats - 2018-2019". NHL.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- "2018 NHL Draft Notes". NHL.com. June 23, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- "Sabres acquire Sheary, Hunwick from Penguins". NHL.com. June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- "Sabres acquire Thompson, Berglund, Sobotka, 2 picks from Blues". NHL.com. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- "Skinner traded to Sabres by Hurricanes". NHL.com. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- "Sabres acquire Dougherty from Predators". NHL.com. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- "Sabres acquire draft pick from Stars". NHL.com. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "Sabres acquire forward Leier". NHL.com. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- "Sabres acquire Montour from Ducks". NHL.com. February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
- "Sabres acquire pick from Jets". NHL.com. February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- "AMERKS AGREE TO TERMS WITH WILCOX". amerks.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- "Jets sign three players". nhl.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- "Sabres, Hutton agree to 3-year deal". nhl.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- "Blues sign goalie Chad Johnson to one-year deal". nhl.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- "Sabres agree to terms with Wedgewood". nhl.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- "«Металлург» подписал контракт с Виктором Антипиным". NHL.com (in Russian). July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- "Sislo Agrees to Terms on a One-Year Contract". NHL.com. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- "Blues sign Nolan to one-year, two-way deal". nhl.com. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- "Sabres sign Wilcox to 1-year contract". NHL.com. February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
- "Sabres agree to entry-level deal with Ruotsalainen". NHL.com. May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- Harrington, Mike (October 2, 2018). "Sabres claim forward Remi Elie on waivers from Dallas". buffalonews.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- "Vaclav Karabacek: Waived by Sabres". CBSSports.com. September 20, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- Wawrow, John (September 20, 2018). "Reinhart eagerly rejoins Sabres with new contract signed". AP News. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- "Patrik Berglund placed on waivers". NHL.com. December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- "Sabres ink Hickey to entry-level contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- "Sabres, Wilson agree to 2-year contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- "Sabres sign Dahlin to entry-level contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Sabres sign Malone to 1-year contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
- "Sabres ink Bailey to 1-year deal". nhl.com. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- "O'Regan, Baptiste sign 1-year deals". nhl.com. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- "Sabres sign Smith to 1-year contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- "Sabres sign Reinhart to 2-year deal". NHL.com. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- "Sabres ink Pekar to entry-level contract". NHL.com. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- "Sabres sign Fitzgerald to entry-level contract". NHL.com. March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- "Sabres, Bryson agree to entry-level deal". NHL.com. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- "Sabres sign Skinner to 8-year contract". NHL.com. June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- Myers, Dan (June 30, 2017). "Wild Continues Re-Shuffle in Trade with Sabres". NHL.com. Retrieved June 7, 2018.