Inside the numbers from the Sabres' 9-game winning streak

DALLAS – Lindy Ruff laid out the identity he hoped his Buffalo Sabres would adopt at the outset of training camp: strong defensively, and willing to do whatever it takes to win.

“First and foremost, you want something for the fans to wrap their arms around,” Ruff said in October. “For me, that's important.”

That identity has come to life during the Sabres’ nine-game winning streak. They have been one of the NHL’s premier defensive teams since the streak began in Edmonton on Dec. 9, backed by strong goaltending from Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Here's a look at some of the standout numbers behind Buffalo's streak.

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1.89

Goals allowed per game

The Sabres have allowed the fewest goals per game in the NHL since their streak began. They’ve held opponents to three or fewer goals in each of the nine contests.

While goaltending has been a major factor – we’ll get to that later – the quality of chances against has mattered, too. According to Stathletes, the Sabres have allowed just 18 high-danger chances in the last nine games, which ranks sixth in the league.

That success isn’t a credit to any one positional group – rather, it’s a commitment to details by all five players on the ice at a given time. Forwards take what’s given and go to work on the forecheck, increasing offensive-zone time and limiting turnovers that lead to rush chances. Defensemen kill plays physically and move the puck up-ice quickly.

“I think it’s a five-man effort, really,” Ruff said. “You defend with five, and I think if you’re missing a couple pieces, then you give up chances. I think we’ve done a great job of getting inside and staying away from the high-quality (chances).”

17.91

Blocks per 60 minutes

The Sabres have blocked 163 shots over the last nine games, which averages out to 17.91 blocks per 60 minutes – the second-highest mark in the NHL, behind Minnesota.

Mattias Samuelsson leads the way with 19 blocks during that span, but he’s far from alone.

Eight different players have at least nine blocks over the last nine games: Samuelsson, Alex Tuch (13), Michael Kesselring (12), Bowen Byram (11), Owen Power (11), Rasmus Dahlin (10), Beck Malenstyn (9) and Tage Thompson (9).

“We find our own way to play defense,” Dahlin said. “We play hard in our own way. We sacrifice the body a lot, we block a lot of shots, and we backcheck hard.”

25

Penalties taken

Though the Sabres’ penalty kill has been a season-long strength – it ranks third in the NHL at 84.8 percent – the fact that they haven’t had to rely on it has been a key component to their recent success.

Buffalo’s 25 penalties taken over the past nine games are the fourth fewest in the league.

.929

Team save percentage

When defensive breakdowns do occur, the Sabres have been able to count on both of their healthy goaltenders to make the key stops.

Alex Lyon has won seven of the nine games with a .919 save percentage. He was being evaluated on Tuesday after sustaining a lower-body injury late in Monday’s win over the Blues.

Should Lyon miss time, the Sabres have another goaltender ready to step up in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has a .960 save percentage in his two wins during the streak.

Together, Lyon and Luukkonen have combined for an NHL-best .929 team save percentage since Dec. 9 and saved 5.27 goals above expected, the fifth-best mark in the league (according to Stathletes).

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10

Different players with multiple goals

You’ve still got to score goals to win. With a mostly healthy roster, the Sabres have been able to leave their four forward lines relatively untouched since the early part of the streak:

Krebs – Thompson – Doan

Benson – McLeod – Quinn

Ostlund – Norris – Tuch

Greenway – Dunne – Malenstyn

All four lines have been trusted in a variety of situations, and all four have stepped up in different games throughout the streak. The fact that six different players have scored game-winning goals – three from Zach Benson, plus one each from Tuch, Thompson, Byram, Josh Norris and Peyton Krebs – paints a picture of that depth.

The Sabres have been able to count on a new offensive hero emerging nightly – including contributions from the defense corps. In St. Louis, it was the McLeod and Norris lines providing dominant offensive shifts. In the previous game against Boston, Samuelsson factored in on three straight goals. Byram had three points in the game before that.

All told, the Sabres have 10 different players with multiple goals since the streak began – tied with Ottawa and Vegas for most in the NHL

“I just think it’s been more of a team thing where all four lines have been producing and on different nights, we’ve had different lines step up and win us hockey games,” Ruff said.

Up next

The Sabres look to make it 10 in a row when they visit the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Wednesday. Coverage on MSG begins at 7:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 8.