“Obviously, I play a two-way abrasive style,” said Clifton. That’s not the way it has been for the Sabres for a very long time. Warning: Hard hats are mandatory now at this end of the ice. Barack Obama was winding down his first term in the Oval Office the last time the Sabres made the cut.Ĭlifton alone won’t stem Buffalo’s goal-for-goal bleeding, but his presence will make 31 teams far less comfortable when entering the Sabres’ end. Please lower your hand now if you’re still of the mind that everyone makes the playoffs. The bleeding again left them short (by a point) of a playoff berth, the franchise’s 12th consecutive postseason DNQ. Among the top 12 scoring teams in the league, only the Sabres were upside-down for goal differential. 3 in goals last season - behind the Oilers and Bruins- ended up minus-4 in goal differential. Kevin Shattenkirk won't replicate Connor Clifton's physicality on the blue line. He’ll also have to hope to wring some more of that out of Carlo and Forbort. 20, coach Jim Montgomery no doubt will spend some time sifting through young candidates such as Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula - acquired in the Taylor Hall trade with Chicago - in his search to add some back-end pop. Looch is a lot of things, not one of them a defenseman. For hits and overall physical presence and jam factor, the Bruins will look to veteran left winger Milan Lucic (168 hits/11.57 last season with Calgary) to fill some of the Clifton void. Shattenkirk, more wired for offense, rolled up only 79 hits (3.27 per 60) last season with Anaheim.
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Kevin Shattenkirk, the aged free agent acquired to fill Clifton’s roster spot, won’t be assuming Clifton’s hitting shoes. 2-3 hitters for the Bruins were Brandon Carlo (128/5.43) and Derek Forbort (106/6.64), the latter of whom often was Clifton’s left-shot sidekick. Impressive marks, particularly for a guy slotted on the No. His hit rate, 8.96 per 60 minutes, placed him at No. Those 208 hits ranked Clifton 10th among NHL defensemen last season. Related : Bruins couldn’t afford to wait and see if market for Tyler Bertuzzi would dry up
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