2020–21 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2020–21 Buffalo Sabres season is the 51st season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] The Sabres are looking to end their nine year playoff drought, having last qualified for the playoffs in the 2010–11 season.

2020–21 Buffalo Sabres
2020–21 record	4–4–2
Home record	2–3–1
Road record	2–1–1
Goals for	30
Goals against	32
Team information
General manager	Kevyn Adams
Coach	Ralph Krueger
Captain	Jack Eichel
Alternate captains	Jake McCabe Kyle Okposo
Arena	KeyBank Center
Minor league affiliate(s)	Rochester Americans (AHL) Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Victor Olofsson (4)
Assists	Jack Eichel (9)
Points	Jack Eichel (11)
Penalty minutes	Jake McCabe (9)
Plus/minus	Jake McCabe Rasmus Ristolainen (+2)
Wins	Linus Ullmark (3)
Goals against average	Linus Ullmark (2.56)

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 will play this season in the East Division and will only play games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Standings

Divisional standings

East Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Boston Bruins	11	8	1	2	4	36	24	+12	18
2	Philadelphia Flyers	12	7	3	2	5	39	37	+2	16
3	Washington Capitals	11	6	2	3	4	40	38	+2	15
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	11	5	5	1	1	33	41	−8	11
5	New Jersey Devils	9	4	3	2	3	23	26	−3	10
6	New York Islanders	10	4	4	2	4	23	27	−4	10
7	New York Rangers	10	4	4	2	3	29	28	+1	10
8	Buffalo Sabres	10	4	4	2	2	30	32	−2	10

Updated to game(s) played on February 6, 2021. Source: National Hockey League[2]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater amount of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater amount 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 amount of goals scored (GF)

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.[3]

2020–21 game log
January: 4–4–2 (Home: 2–3–1 ; Road: 2–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 January 14 Washington 6–4 Buffalo Hutton 0 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 January 15 Washington 2–1 Buffalo Ullmark 0 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 January 18 Buffalo 6–1 Philadelphia Hutton 0 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 January 19 Buffalo 0–3 Philadelphia Hutton 0 1–3–0 2 Recap 5 January 22 Buffalo 3–4 Washington SO Ullmark 0 1–3–1 3 Recap 6 January 24 Buffalo 4–3 Washington SO Ullmark 0 2–3–1 5 Recap 7 January 26 NY Rangers 2–3 Buffalo Ullmark 0 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 January 28 NY Rangers 3–2 Buffalo OT Ullmark 0 3–3–2 8 Recap 9 January 30 New Jersey 3–4 Buffalo SO Ullmark 0 4–3–2 10 Recap 10 January 31 New Jersey 5–3 Buffalo Hutton 0 4–4–2 10 Recap
February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap — February 2 Buffalo – NY Islanders Postponed due to COVID-19.[4] Rescheduled for February 22. — February 4 Buffalo – NY Islanders Postponed due to COVID-19.[5] Rescheduled for March 4. — February 6 Buffalo – Boston Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for March 27. — February 8 Buffalo – Boston Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 13. 11 February 11 Washington – Buffalo 12 February 13 Washington – Buffalo 13 February 15 NY Islanders – Buffalo 14 February 16 NY Islanders – Buffalo 15 February 18 Buffalo – Washington 16 February 20 Buffalo – New Jersey 17 February 22 Buffalo – NY Islanders 18 February 23 Buffalo – New Jersey 19 February 25 New Jersey – Buffalo 20 February 27 Philadelphia – Buffalo 21 February 28 Philadelphia – Buffalo
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 22 March 2 Buffalo – NY Rangers 23 March 4 Buffalo – NY Islanders 24 March 6 Buffalo – NY Islanders 25 March 7 Buffalo – NY Islanders 26 March 9 Buffalo – Philadelphia 27 March 11 Pittsburgh – Buffalo 28 March 13 Pittsburgh – Buffalo 29 March 16 Buffalo – New Jersey 30 March 18 Boston – Buffalo 31 March 20 Boston – Buffalo 32 March 22 Buffalo – NY Rangers 33 March 24 Buffalo – Pittsburgh 34 March 25 Buffalo – Pittsburgh 35 March 27 Buffalo – Boston 36 March 29 Philadelphia – Buffalo 37 March 31 Philadelphia – Buffalo
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 April 1 NY Rangers – Buffalo 39 April 3 NY Rangers – Buffalo 40 April 6 Buffalo – New Jersey 41 April 8 New Jersey – Buffalo 42 April 11 Buffalo – Philadelphia 43 April 13 Buffalo – Boston 44 April 15 Buffalo – Washington 45 April 17 Pittsburgh – Buffalo 46 April 18 Pittsburgh – Buffalo 47 April 22 Boston – Buffalo 48 April 23 Boston – Buffalo 49 April 25 Buffalo – NY Rangers 50 April 27 Buffalo – NY Rangers 51 April 29 Buffalo – Boston
May: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 May 1 Buffalo – Boston 53 May 3 NY Islanders – Buffalo 54 May 4 NY Islanders – Buffalo 55 May 6 Buffalo – Pittsburgh 56 May 8 Buffalo – Pittsburgh
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)   Postponement

Player statistics

Updated to games played January 31, 2021

Skaters

Regular season[6]

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Jack Eichel	10	2	9	11	−6	2
Victor Olofsson	10	4	6	10	−6	0
Taylor Hall	10	1	8	9	−6	4
Sam Reinhart	8	3	3	6	−7	0
Rasmus Ristolainen	10	2	4	6	2	6
Eric Staal	10	3	2	5	−4	4
Curtis Lazar	10	3	1	4	1	0
Tobias Rieder	10	3	0	3	−1	0
Dylan Cozens	9	2	1	3	1	0
Rasmus Dahlin	10	1	2	3	−9	4
Jake McCabe	10	1	2	3	2	9
Colin Miller	10	1	2	3	−7	4
Riley Sheahan	10	1	1	2	1	0
Brandon Montour	10	0	2	2	−6	8
Henri Jokiharju	7	1	0	1	−2	0
Casey Mittelstadt	2	0	1	1	−1	0
Matt Irwin	3	0	1	1	−1	4
Tage Thompson	5	0	1	1	−2	2
Cody Eakin	10	0	1	1	−2	0
Jeff Skinner	10	0	1	1	0	6
Kyle Okposo	5	0	0	0	−1	0
Rasmus Asplund	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltenders

Regular season[7]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Linus Ullmark	6	6	375:42	3	1	2	16	2.56	187	.914	0	0	0	0
Carter Hutton	4	4	216:32	1	3	0	11	3.05	105	.895	0	0	0	0
Jonas Johansson	1	0	19:02	0	0	0	1	3.15	9	.889	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.

Roster

Updated February 4, 2021[8][9]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
3		Will Borgen	D	R	24	2015	Moorhead, Minnesota
24		Dylan Cozens	C	R	19	2019	Whitehorse, Yukon
26		Rasmus Dahlin	D	L	20	2018	Trollhattan, Sweden
88		Brandon Davidson	D	L	29	2020	Taber, Alberta
15		Jean-Sebastien Dea	C	R	26	2019	Laval, Quebec
20		Cody Eakin	C	L	29	2020	Winnipeg, Manitoba
9		Jack Eichel (C)	C	R	24	2015	North Chelmsford, Massachusetts
28		Zemgus Girgensons	C	L	27	2012	Riga, Latvia
4		Taylor Hall	LW	L	29	2020	Calgary, Alberta
40		Carter Hutton	G	L	35	2018	Thunder Bay, Ontario
44		Matt Irwin	D	L	33	2020	Victoria, British Columbia
34		Jonas Johansson	G	L	25	2014	Gavle, Sweden
10		Henri Jokiharju	D	R	21	2019	Oulu, Finland
27		Curtis Lazar	RW	R	26	2019	Salmon Arm, British Columbia
19		Jake McCabe (A)	D	L	27	2014	Eau Claire, Wisconsin
33		Colin Miller	D	R	28	2019	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
37		Casey Mittelstadt	C	L	22	2017	Eden Prairie, Minnesota
62		Brandon Montour	D	R	26	2019	Ohsweken, Ontario
21		Kyle Okposo (A)	RW	R	32	2016	Saint Paul, Minnesota
68		Victor Olofsson	LW	L	25	2014	Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
23		Sam Reinhart (A)	C	R	25	2014	North Vancouver, British Columbia
13		Tobias Rieder	LW	L	28	2020	Landshut, Germany
55		Rasmus Ristolainen	D	R	26	2013	Turku, Finland
38		Riley Sheahan	C	L	29	2021	St. Catharines, Ontario
53		Jeff Skinner	LW	L	28	2018	Markham, Ontario
49		C. J. Smith	LW	L	26	2017	Des Moines, Iowa
12		Eric Staal	C	L	36	2020	Thunder Bay, Ontario
72		Tage Thompson	C	R	23	2018	Glendale, Arizona
35		Linus Ullmark	G	L	27	2012	Lugnvik, Sweden

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
September 16, 2020	To Minnesota Wild Marcus Johansson	To Buffalo Sabres Eric Staal	[10]
October 7, 2020	To San Jose Sharks 2nd-round pick in 2020 4th-round pick in 2020	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2020	[11]

Draft picks

Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	8	Jack Quinn	RW	Canada	Ottawa 67s (OHL)
2	34^1	John-Jason Peterka	LW	Germany	EHC Red Bull Munchen (DEL)
5	131	Matteo Costantini	C	Canada	Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL)
7	193	Albert Lyckasen	D	Sweden	Vita Hasten (HockeyAllsvenskan)
7	216^2	Jakub Konecny	C	Czech Republic	Sparta Jr. (U20 Extraliga)

Notes:

1. The San Jose Sharks' second-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020 that sent a second and fourth-round pick both in 2020 (38th and 100th overall) to San Jose in exchange for this pick.[12]
2. The Dallas Stars' seventh-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on November 10, 2018 that sent Taylor Fedun to Dallas in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[13] The condition – Buffalo will receive a seventh-round pick in 2020 if Fedun plays in 25 games during the 2018–19 NHL season and 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs combined[13] – was converted on January 17, 2019.

References

1. National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
2. "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
3. "2020-21 NHL schedule announced". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
4. "Sabres game at Islanders postponed due to NHL COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
5. "Sabres games postponed through Monday due to NHL COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
6. "2020–21 Buffalo Sabres Stats – Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
7. "2020–21 Buffalo Sabres Stats – Goalies". NHL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
8. "Buffalo Sabres Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
9. "Buffalo Sabres Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
10. "Sabres acquire Eric Staal from Wild". NHL.com. September 16, 2020.
11. @BuffaloSabres (October 7, 2020). "We have acquired the 34th pick from the @SanJoseSharks in exchange for the 38th pick and the 100th pick in the 2020 #NHLDraft" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. "Sharks Conclude 2020 NHL Draft with Nine Selections". October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
13. "Stars acquire defenseman Taylor Fedun from Sabres". November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.