Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – I know this is going to ruin some of your narratives that believe the reason the Buffalo Sabres don’t win is because they’re last in the league in hits.
However, the numbers just don’t support that the teams that hit actually win.
For me, what helps you win is, are you're hard to play against? That’s totally different than just going out and hitting everything that moves.
If you look at the Sabres, they need more players that are hard to play against.
That’s a defenseman who makes life miserable for the other team in front of the net. That player isn’t going to get credit for any hits while doing it, but he’s going to make players think twice about occupying the scoring area. It's the guy that's first to the battle, and never quits until he has the puck.
Players that battle hard and win battles don't always get hits.
Mattias Samuelsson is tough to play against, but I wouldn’t call him a hitter. It’s his reach and the way he plays angles that kills plays. He may ride a guy out of the play, but he doesn’t run him through the back wall. He makes things difficult and frustrating for his opponent.
I had a chance to speak with former Sabres captain Craig Rivet about this. He was an ornery defenseman that showed up in ill humor. If you wanted to stand in front of the net, you were going home with welts on your back from the cross-checks.
Rivet told me he knew who was approaching him as he went back to retrieve pucks. If it was a big man, he knew he had less time to make a play. If it was a small player, he would take the extra time to make a play.
From a numbers standpoint, some of you are going to be shocked at what teams are leading the league in hits, because the winning teams are at the bottom with the Sabres.
If you look at the top-14 teams in the NHL in hits, only three are in the top-10 of the league.
The sixth place New York Rangers are seventh in hits, the ninth place Vegas Golden Knights are also ninth in hits, and the fourth place Tampa Bay Lighting are 11th in hitting.
The 25th ranked Philadelphia Flyers lead the league in hitting. The third ranked New Jersey Devils are 31st in hits, while the second place Carolina Hurricanes are 30th.
Here’s the bottom-end of the league in hitting and where they are in points percentage:
32.) Buffalo Sabres (19th)
31.) New Jersey Devils (3rd)
30.) Carolina Hurricanes (2nd)
27.) Colorado Avalanche (13th)
26.) Dallas Stars (7th)
23.) Toronto Maple Leafs (5th)
22.) Winnipeg Jets (8th)
16.) Seattle Kraken (10th)
15.) Boston Bruins (1st)
Now let’s look at the top hitting teams in the NHL and where they rank in the standings:
1.) Philadelphia Flyers (25th)
2.) Pittsburgh Penguins (13th)
3.) Ottawa Senators (23rd)
4.) New York Islanders (21st)
5.) Nashville Predators (18th)
6.) Washington Capitals (17th)
7.) New York Rangers (6th)
8.) Arizona Coyotes (27th)
9.) Vegas Golden Knights (9th)
10.) Vancouver Canucks (27th)
As you can see, hitting just doesn’t equal wins. It’s how you play. You can play tough and be extremely hard to play against and not record a hit all night.
In my opinion, those are the types of players the Sabres should be looking for this offseason.
