Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot and who's not. This week's list includes...
The last time the Buffalo Sabres won 10 straight games was during the 2006-07 season, which they ended by losing the Eastern Conference final series 4-1 to the Ottawa Senators.
That was the last year Buffalo won a playoff series, which may explain why the Sabres may be the NHL’s most anonymous franchise. The Sabres haven’t even qualified for the playoffs in the past seven seasons, so this unusual winning streak has turned some heads.
Buffalo has the hottest team in the league right now. According to NHL.com, nine of the 10 victories have been one-goal decisions. Seven of the 10 were decided in overtime or shootouts, including Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
The roster was built around Jack Eichel, the second overall pick behind Connor McDavid in the 2015 draft, and this year’s team is being paced by Jeff Skinner, whose 19 goals put him among the league leaders. Head coach Phil Housley is a Hall of Fame defenceman in his second season behind Buffalo’s bench.
Buffalo got its NHL franchise in 1970 and has never won a Stanley Cup, although it has twice lost the final series. Their uniforms are blue and yellow, just in case anyone forgot about the Sabres during the recent decades.
