The Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres were considered heading in
different directions entering the current NHL season.
Boston was coming off a very impressive performance in
2008-09, having finished atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Goaltender Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top
goaltender, Zdeno Chara was awarded the Norris Trophy as the top
defenseman and head coach Claude Julien won coach of the year
honors. Despite bowing out of the 2009 playoffs in a tough
seven-game second-round series against the underdog Carolina
Hurricanes, the Bruins were ranked among the favorites to contend
for the Stanley Cup in 2010.
By contrast, NHL experts were split over what to expect in
2009-10 from a Sabres club that had struggled to regain the form
which made them Conference finalists in 2006 and 2007. Consensus
suggested the Sabres would be a marginal playoff contender, one
that would either make or miss the 2010 postseason by a slim
margin. They certainly weren't expecting them to place anywhere
near the top of their division and conference.
With just over two months remaining in this season, both
clubs are still heading in different directions but surprisingly,
the roles have been reversed.
The Sabres find themselves atop the Northeast Division and
among the leading teams in the East while the Bruins have struggled
and are in danger of falling out of the Eastern playoff picture.
What happened to cause such a dramatic shift in their
fortunes? It wasn't just one factor but rather a host of them.
Bummed in Boston
The biggest issue behind the Bruins' struggles is the
stunning decline in their offensive production.
Last season, the Bruins were second only to the Detroit Red
Wings in goals scored per game but in 2009-10, they're dead last in
that department. Last season, their power play was the second-best
overall but in 2009-10, it currently ranks 18th.
Injuries to key forwards Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and
Patrice Bergeron have contributed to their offensive decline. The
loss of Savard, their best forward, for nearly half the season to
multiple injuries has been a significant blow.
That's not the only reason for the offensive slide. Forwards
David Krejci and Michael Ryder are well off their strong numbers
from last season while sophomore Blake Wheeler hasn't made
significant improvement over his rookie performance.
It also appears they're missing the contributions of former
Bruins forward Phil Kessel, who was shipped to Toronto last fall.
The often under-appreciated Kessel contributed 36 goals last season
to the Bruins attack, which management this season has yet to
replace.
Defense has also been a factor. In 2008-09, the Bruins
allowed the fewest goals-per-game of all 30 teams, but this season
they've allowed the eighth-most.
They gave up a high number of shots last season, ranking
among the top third in total shots-against last season, but the
combination of their potent offense and Thomas' stellar goaltending
masked this problem.
This season, the Bruins have significantly reduced their
shots-against, ranking 12th overall in that department, and have
the third-best penalty kill. But with their anemic offense and the
combined struggles of Thomas and backup goalie Tuukka Rask, they
haven't exploited that improvement.
With only one victory in their last ten games heading into
this week, the Bruins must get back on track soon or risk missing
the playoffs.
Winning battle
Meanwhile, the Sabres' reversal of fortunes has been
particularly noteworthy considering several of their star forwards
have not posted strong offensive numbers.
Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy remain well off
the pace of their respective career-best performances of two years
ago while forwards Drew Stafford and Clarke MacArthur have yet to
make significant strides in their anticipated development into
scoring forwards.
Still, they've been able to spread their scoring throughout
their lineup to rank 11th in goals-per-game average, a slight
increase over last season.
Playmaking center Tim Connolly has been a significant
offensive factor this season with 49 points in 53 games. If the
oft-injured Connolly can stay healthy this season he could reach a
career-best 75 points.
Another contributing factor to the Sabres improvement is the
play of hulking (6-foot-8, 222-pound) rookie defenseman Tyler
Myers, who's not only among his team's leaders in points but also
leads in ice time, averaging over 23 minutes per game, and
currently has the second-best plus-minus on the team.
Myers also ranks third in NHL rookie points this season and
his overall play makes him a favorite for rookie of the year
honors.
The Sabres have also improved their goals-against and
penalty-killing numbers this season. Part of this can be attributed
to their overall team game, but it is primarily due to the stellar
play of goaltender Ryan Miller.
Heading into this week, Miller led all NHL goalies in
goals-against average (2.03) and save percentage (.935), tied for
fourth overall in victories with 29 and is tied for third in
shutouts with five. Those numbers become more impressive when one
considers he's faced the fourth-most shots of all NHL netminders
this season.
The odds-on favorite to backstop Team USA at the upcoming
Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Miller has emerged this season as
arguably the NHL's best goaltender, earning talk of a Vezina award
and perhaps a nomination for the Hart Trophy as this season's
league MVP.
Without Miller's superb goaltending, it's doubtful the
Sabres would be battling for one of the final playoff berths in the
Conference.
The Sabres should be able to hold off any late-charging
teams and finish first in the Northeast — if Miller can stay
on top of his game for the rest of the season, his teammates can
cut back on the amount of rubber he's facing, and Vanek, Pominville
and Roy can score with more frequency
