Buffalo Sabres Are Back to Square One



Through the first 14 games of 2013/14 the Buffalo Sabres have a record of 2-11-1.
After the first 14 games of their expansion year in 1970/71 they went 2-11-1.
Was the first ever incarnation of the Sabres better off than the current squad ? Let's have a look.

1970/71 after 14 games (GP-G-A-Pts)  21 GOALS FOR, 58 GOALS AGAINST
Gilbert Perreault  (20 yrs old)              14-7-5-12 
Gerry Meehan     (24 yrs old)              12-4 3-7 
Cliff Schmautz      (31 yrs old)             11-3-4-7
Larry Keenan       (30 yrs old)             12-1-5-6  
Reggie Fleming     (34 yrs old)             14-1-4-5 
Randy Wyzorub   (20 yrs old)             14-2-1-3 
Steve Atkinson     (22 yrs old)               3-1-1-2 
Al Hamilton          (24 yrs old)             11-0-2-2
Floyd Smith          (35 yrs old)             14-0-2-2
Skip Krake           (27 yrs old)            11-1-0-1

Dave Dryden  (29 yrs old)   60min   3.00GAA
Roger Crozier (28 yrs old) 633min  3.79GAA
Joe Daley     (27 yrs old)    147min  5.71GAA



2013/14 after 14 games (GP-G-A-Pts) 23 GOALS FOR, 41 GOALS AGAINST 
Cody Hodgson   (23 yrs old)            14-4-6-10
Marcus Foligno   (23 yrs old)            11-2-4-6
Steve Ott            (31 yrs old)            14-2-4-6
Christian Ehrhoff  (31 yrs old)           11-0-4-4
Brian Flynn          (25 yrs old)           14-2-1-3
Tyler Ennis           (24 yrs old)           14-1-2-3
Zemgus Girgensons (20 yrs old)        13-1-2-3
Jamie McBain       (25 yrs old)            7-1-2-3
Drew Stafford       (28 yrs old)          14-1-2-3
Tyler Myers          (23 yrs old)          14-0-3-3
Matt Moulson       (30 yrs old)            1-2-0-2
Cody McCormick (30 yrs old)          10-0-2-2

Jhonas Enroth  (25 yrs old)   241min  2.24GAA
Ryan Miller      (33 yrs old)   595min  3.13GAA

Two pretty rough squads here. The original team would end up 24-39-15 for 63 points. This year`s team would need 58 points in the remaining 68 games to match that total, doubtful but you never know. Ryan Miller would have to be considered an improvement over Roger Crozier and friends in net, but barely so at this stage. One would have to take Zemgus Girgensons and Marcus Foligno over Randy Wyzorub and Steve Atkinson. Tyler Myers over Al Hamilton, even with his recent struggles is a no-brainer.

That brings us to the leading scorers of each team, Gilbert Perreault and Cody Hodgson. Sure, Hodgson is a nice player and has a chance to have a good to very good career. Perreault on the other hand was a generational-type player and sure-fire Hall of Famer. I wonder which team the average die-hard Sabres would chose between the two squads. Personally, I`d probably take the 1970 team if only for the future potential of Perreault. I just don`t see a great future any time soon in the current edition.




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