Sabres’ season of rebuilding produced many highlights

The 2015-16 season has come to an end for the Buffalo Sabres. Though some fans find themselves disappointed in the team’s overall performance, the Sabres experienced quite an improvement from their previous two campaigns in almost every manner possible.

As a team, they accrued 81 points, which is 27 more than 2014-15 and 29 more than 2013-14. This season, they allowed an astounding 52 fewer goals and scored 41 more than they had in the season prior.

Though the team again missed the playoffs, there was a lot more excitement for the product on the ice than there had been in a long time. The team produced four 20-goal scorers. In 2014-15, the Sabres had one. For the first time since 2012-13, Buffalo had a goaltender who won 20 games — and it was their “backup.”

The team had moved beyond tank talk and had run headstrong into a strong rebuild. While there have been many highlights throughout the season, these are some of Buffalo’s brightest spots from the season, and fantastic signs of things to come.

5) Johnson reaches out and grabs a win

Goaltender Chad Johnson came into the season as Buffalo’s dedicated backup goalie. By the end of the year, he’d have played in more than half of Buffalo’s games, and won more games than all of Buffalo’s other goaltenders COMBINED. He hasn’t always been a great positional goaltender, but that makes for some highlight-reel saves.

On this play, the flyers broke into the zone 2-on-1 and Dylan Healy moved the puck to the net. Johnson made the save, but the rebound went straight to the stick of the trailing Flyers forward. Johnson reached up with his blocker hand and denied what was surely the game-winning goal. Buffalo went on to win the game.

4) & 3) Mad Hatters

On Dec. 10, Buffalo traveled to Calgary to take on the falling Flames. Though the Sabres lost the game, Ristolainen netted all three of Buffalo’s goals – the first Sabres defenseman to score a hat trick since Hockey Hall of Fame member Phil Housley on Jan. 22, 1988 against the New Jersey Devils. He was also the first defenseman to score three times in a period since another Hockey Hall of Fame member, Al MacInnis, in the first period of a game for the St. Louis Blues against the New York Rangers on Oct. 12, 1998.

One month later, the Sabres again found themselves in Western Canada, and this time, it was Reinhart who scored his first career hat trick. His third goal of the night came on an empty net, in which Evander Kane passed up his chance to score and passed to Reinhart. Sam was the first Sabres rookie to net a hat trick since Jason Pominville did so against Los Angeles on Jan. 14, 2006 – almost 10 years ago to the day.

2.) All’s well that ends well

As the Sabres’ season approached the halfway mark, the team was really starting to come together, in more ways than one. A tight contest between Buffalo and Arizona found a frustrated Coyotes team a little tense as time expired and Buffalo secured the 2-1 victory.

Zach Bogosian cleared ‘Yotes forward Anthony Duclair from the crease, and was rewarded with a stick chop. Things escalated from there and all of the players on the ice piled into the corner to tie up a man and take a few shots.

Following the fracas, the Sabres chatted excitedly as they walked the tunnel to the dressing room – each was grinning from ear to ear. It was the kind of unity that fans had been waiting so desperately for, and though they were on the road, it was clear that the players were proud of the performance they’d put on.

1.)Eichel being Eichel for the first time

Jack Eichel scored his first NHL career goal in his first NHL career game, and it was a great goal-scorer’s goal – a short-side snipe from the bottom of the circle that kept Buffalo from being blanked in their first game of the season. It was pretty and worth looking up if you’re into that sort of thing. It was a few days later, though, that he scored what was perhaps his most memorable.

After his first shot gets kicked out to the slot, Eichel chases down Columbus’s Boone Jenner, outmuscles Jenner to steal back the puck, skates to the bottom of the circle, and buries it. It was at this time that Buffalo got a glimpse at what it was they had in Eichel. This was not the last time the 19-year-old would use his strength to fight off an opponent and score a beautiful goal, but this first time was a thing of beauty.

On April 10, the players attended locker clean-out at the First Niagara Center, and on April 11, coach Dan Bylsma and general manager Tim Murray will address the media regarding the 2015-16 season, and their plans for the future. Looking ahead, this offseason may be just as busy as the last – Murray has some important personnel decisions to make.

With higher expectations for the Sabres in the coming 2016-17 season, there is no doubt that performances like these five will be the rule rather than the exception as the team continues to chase Lord Stanley’s prize.

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