Power play boost

February 12, 2017

With Sam Reinhart’s power play goal on Saturday night, the Buffalo Sabres reached new heights on special teams.

They now have the NHL’s best power play at 23.8 percent. They aren’t leading by much, as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs are right behind them at 23.3 percent.

Here’s a look at the power play for Buffalo over the last decade:

Sabres' special teams ranks (last 10 seasons)
Year	PP%	Rank
2006-07	17.2%	18th
2007-08	18%	14th
2008-09	20.7%	7th
2009-10	17.6%	16th
2010-11	19.4%	8th
2011-12	16.7%	19th
2012-13	14.4%	27th
2013-14	14.4%	29th
2014-15	13.4%	30th
2015-16	18.9%	12th
2016-17	23.8%	1st

The Sabres are near the top of the league in their actual number of power play goals (39). Tampa Bay leads with 42.

Buffalo rank 20th in the league in the number of power play opportunities with just 164. Compare that to the Lightning, which lead the NHL with 200 opportunities.

Kevin Freiheit

I founded Buffalo Hockey Central in 2008 and have poured hours and hours into this site. Luckily, we have a great team of writers and designers who have helped keep this up and running despite a ton of out-of-pocket costs. We do this because we enjoy it, and we're desperate to see the Sabres win the Cup someday, but they have to make the playoffs first.

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