2020–21 Buffalo Sabres season

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2020–21 Buffalo Sabres
Division8th East
2020–21 record15–34–7
Home record8–16–4
Road record7–18–3
Goals for138
Goals against199
Team information
General managerKevyn Adams
CoachRalph Krueger (Jan. 14 – Mar. 17)
Don Granato (interim) (Mar. 17 – May 8)
CaptainJack Eichel
Alternate captainsJake McCabe
Kyle Okposo
ArenaKeyBank Center
Minor league affiliate(s)Rochester Americans (AHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsSam Reinhart (25)
AssistsVictor Olofsson (19)
PointsSam Reinhart (40)
Penalty minutesRasmus Ristolainen (36)
Plus/minusSteven Fogarty
Jake McCabe (+2)
WinsLinus Ullmark (9)
Goals against averageLinus Ullmark (2.63)

The 2020–21 Buffalo Sabres season was the 51st season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1]

On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment the Sabres played this season in the East Division and only played games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season..

With an 18th consecutive loss on March 29, 2021, the Sabres equalled the NHL record for the longest losing streak in a season, tied with the 2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins.[2]

On April 17, the Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention after a 3–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, extending their playoff drought to ten seasons, tying an NHL record.[3]

Off-season[]

The Sabres introduced three new jerseys for the season. On August 11, 2020, the Sabres revealed their new uniforms, which was an updated version of the team's original jerseys. The team reintroduced their original royal blue, gold, and white colors, which was worn by the team from 1970 to 1996.[4] On November 16, 2020, the NHL introduced Adidas "Reverse Retro" jerseys for all 31 teams, which feature throwback uniforms with a modern twist.[5] The Sabres' Reverse Retro jersey is a modern update to the team's first third jersey worn in 2000, with the exception being that it was done in the team's current colors on a white template.

Standings[]

Divisional standings[]

East Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL RW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Pittsburgh Penguins 56 37 16 3 29 196 156 +40 77
2 x – Washington Capitals 56 36 15 5 29 191 163 +28 77
3 x – Boston Bruins 56 33 16 7 25 168 136 +32 73
4 x – New York Islanders 56 32 17 7 24 156 128 +28 71
5 e – New York Rangers 56 27 23 6 24 177 157 +20 60
6 e – Philadelphia Flyers 56 25 23 8 17 163 201 −38 58
7 e – New Jersey Devils 56 19 30 7 15 145 194 −49 45
8 e – Buffalo Sabres 56 15 34 7 11 138 199 −61 37
Source: National Hockey League[6]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results[]

Regular season[]

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.[7]

2020–21 game log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)   Postponement

Player statistics[]

Skaters[]

Regular season[71]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Sam Reinhart 54 25 15 40 −28 10
Victor Olofsson 56 13 19 32 −23 6
Rasmus Dahlin 56 5 18 23 −36 26
Casey Mittelstadt 41 10 12 22 −10 10
Taylor Hall 37 2 17 19 −21 24
Rasmus Ristolainen 49 4 14 18 −18 36
Jack Eichel 21 2 16 18 −9 6
Tage Thompson 38 8 6 14 −6 17
Jeff Skinner 53 7 7 14 −11 14
Brandon Montour 38 5 9 14 −13 24
Riley Sheahan 53 4 9 13 −8 8
Dylan Cozens 41 4 9 13 −15 16
Kyle Okposo 35 2 11 13 −1 0
Colin Miller 48 4 8 12 −20 27
Rasmus Asplund 28 7 4 11 +1 0
Eric Staal 32 3 7 10 −20 8
Curtis Lazar 33 5 4 9 −4 0
Jacob Bryson 38 1 8 9 −1 12
Henri Jokiharju 46 3 5 8 −11 4
Tobias Rieder 44 5 2 7 −9 2
Cody Eakin 46 3 4 7 −9 14
Arttu Ruotsalainen 17 5 1 6 −9 8
Anders Bjork 15 3 3 6 −5 4
Drake Caggiula 11 2 1 3 −5 4
Jake McCabe 13 1 2 3 +2 9
Steven Fogarty 9 1 2 3 +2 8
Mattias Samuelsson 12 0 2 2 −8 4
Matt Irwin 24 0 2 2 −10 19
Will Borgen 10 0 0 0 −4 4
Brandon Davidson 6 0 0 0 −4 4
C. J. Smith 1 0 0 0 0 0
Jean-Sebastien Dea 1 0 0 0 −1 2
Brett Murray 2 0 0 0 +1 0

Goaltenders[]

Regular season[72]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Linus Ullmark 20 20 1,117:05 9 6 3 49 2.63 591 .917 0 0 0 0
Dustin Tokarski 13 10 729:26 2 8 2 43 3.54 447 .904 0 0 1 0
Michael Houser 4 4 243:02 2 2 0 14 3.46 141 .901 0 0 0 0
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 4 4 216:42 1 3 0 14 3.88 149 .906 0 0 0 0
Carter Hutton 13 12 674:43 1 10 1 39 3.47 341 .886 0 0 0 0
Jonas Johansson 7 6 379:53 0 5 1 24 3.79 207 .884 0 0 0 0

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions[]

Trades[]

Date Details Ref
September 16, 2020 (2020-09-16) To Minnesota Wild
Marcus Johansson
To Buffalo Sabres
Eric Staal
[73]
October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) To San Jose Sharks
2nd-round pick in 2020
4th-round pick in 2020
To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2020
[74]
March 20, 2021 (2021-03-20) To Colorado Avalanche
Jonas Johansson
To Buffalo Sabres
6th-round pick in 2021
[75]
March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26) To Montreal Canadiens
Eric Staal
To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2021
5th-round pick in 2021
[76]
April 10, 2021 (2021-04-10) To Florida Panthers
Brandon Montour
To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2021
[77]
April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) To Boston Bruins
Taylor Hall
Curtis Lazar
To Buffalo Sabres
Anders Bjork
2nd-round pick in 2021
[78]

Waivers[]

Date Player Team Ref
April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) Drake Caggiula from Arizona Coyotes [79]
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