his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career. [

One of the National Hockey League’s big pushes this off-season was to refine the draft lottery process in preparation for the upcoming 2015 Draft. The lottery weights were adjusted to “more appropriately reflect the current state of competitive balance in the league,” a thinly-veiled attempt to lessen the incentive to tank a full season in hopes of picking up the first overall pick. It’s difficult to not look at Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and the Buffalo Sabres as impetus behind the change. McDavid, who has already racked up 34 points in 12 games this year in the OHL, is the consensus No. 1 pick, but Eichel is not far behind. McDavid is considered a generational talent, and outside of Sidney Crosby in recent seasons, no other draft eligible hockey player has produced at his current rate. American Jack Eichel, the consensus No. 2 pick, offers an impressive consolation prize for the team that misses out on McDavid. He has three goals and six assists in three games for Boston University, competing against much older players than McDavid. His hot start comes on the heels of an impressive 20-goal, 45-point run with U.S. Hockey’s National Under-18 Team. The two players create serious opportunity for the team that manages to finish dead last. Under the 2015 Draft lottery rules, the 30th-place team has a 20% chance at picking No. 1 and a 100% chance at getting no worse than the consolation prize. It’s the final year where the draft will utilize the lottery to identify the first overall pick – in 2016, the lottery will expand to determine the top three teams, further depressing the motivation to lose out. The Sabres appear to be a lock for the upcoming draft lottery. And despite other poor performances around the league, it’s growing increasingly difficult to see them finishing anywhere other than dead last – although Carolina is winless and two points behind Buffalo. Few will accuse them of outright tanking, but the organization has certainly done an excellent job of stripping away most of the talent at the NHL-level, using this year to develop a litany of younger players. The team might not be actively trying to lose, but the roster has been carefully assembled to the point where it’s going to be almost impossible for Ted Nolan’s lineup to sustain any kind of success, even over short periods of time. It’s a rebuild, by the harshest of designs. In the early goings, the Sabres have amassed four points in nine games – a shocking victory over San Jose, and a shootout win over Carolina. What’s amazing is that the 2-7-0 record is probably favorable to how they’ve played, which is historically bad. To show just how bad the Sabres have been in the early season, I compiled monthly Score-Adjusted Fenwick% -- or even-strength possession, adjusted for score effects -- for every team over the last eight years. Score-Adjusted Fenwick measures 5-on-5 unblocked shot attempts while the score is within a two-goal margin. It should be noted that Buffalo has two games remaining in the month of October – one in Toronto, one at home against Boston. Possession Lost Team - Month Score-Adjusted Fenwick% Buffalo Sabres - October 2014 34.5% Atlanta Thrashers - March 2008 38.7% Buffalo Sabres - October 2013 40.1% Columbus Blue Jackets - January 2012 40.3% Edmonton Oilers - January 2014 40.9% Minnesota Wild - March 2011 41.2% Edmonton Oilers - November 2010 41.5% Minnesota Wild - March 2010 41.7% Calgary Flames - February 2011 41.7% Atlanta Thrashers - January 2007 41.8% So, Buffalo’s possession rates – importantly adjusted for score effects, since they are almost always trailing in hockey games – through the stretch of October are as bad as we have ever seen. You simply cannot win hockey games getting territorially drilled at the rate which Buffalo experiences, and this is with the team getting decent goaltending (.921 save percentage) at 5-on-5. If Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth ever go through a poor stretch of hockey – and they will, at some point – wins are going to be almost impossible to come by. I don’t think Buffalo will be able to sustain this low of a percentage over a full season, simply because the historical data we have suggests it’s almost impossible to be this bad. But, it’s comparatively difficult to see Buffalo not becoming the worst possession team of the analytics era when next April rolls around. What’s going to be fascinating is whether Buffalo really has any lottery competitors three months from now, and how extreme they’ll take roster-stripping in order to preserve a hopeful 30th-place finish. There are going to be plenty of opportunities to move veteran players, especially guys on expiring deals. Chris Stewart, the team’s best possession player at 43.7%, has been the subject of trade rumors and will likely be one of many shuffled off to the highest bidder at the deadline. Some will say Buffalo’s version of tanking will be worth it the minute they grab one of McDavid or Eichel; others will point to failed rebuild strategies in places like Edmonton and argue that throwing away seasons for nothing more than a chance isn’t worth it. The one point both sides will find agreeable is that this year’s edition of the Sabres is headed for futility. Ozzie Smith Jersey .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. Austin Hedges Jersey . 1 Caroline Wozniacki and three-time champion Serena Williams cruised into the semifinals, while last years runner-up Vera Zvonareva succumbed to Aussie Samantha Stosur in Thursdays womens quarterfinal action at the U. http://www.padresrookiestore.com/Padres-Tony-Gwynn-Kids-Jersey/ . Last year, Matt Kuchar closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Kevin Chappell by two strokes for his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career. Matt Szczur Jersey . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Rollie Fingers Jersey . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled.WASHINGTON -- Heres an audacious way to get a promotion: Tell the big boss what hes been doing wrong. Brian MacLellan did just that when he interviewed with owner Ted Leonsis for the Washington Capitals general manager job. "He led off with some of the things that I have to do to be a better owner," Leonsis said. "I thought that was very brave and very astute, because you dont want to hear things like that." MacLellans strategy helped him pull an upset. Leonsis was looking for a new direction and hadnt intended to promote from within after George McPhees contract wasnt renewed, but MacLellans candour helped him rise above the 15 or so candidates and land the job. "I didnt think I had anything to lose," MacLellan said. MacLellan has been with Washington for 13 seasons, including seven as assistant GM, but most of his work had been in scouting and he had rarely spoken to Leonsis. His message: When everyone in the organization is not on the same page, including the owner, the product on the ice suffers. Such was the case last season with McPhee and coach Adam Oates, and the result was a team that missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years despite 51 goals from Alex Ovechkin. "I think the important point I was trying to make is that I think the team feels when theres a disconnect," MacLellan said, "or (when) theres not a unified philosophy from ownership to manger to coach." MacLellan was introduced alongside Barry Trotz, the longtime Nashville Predators coach who replaces Oates. While MacLellan was one of many GM candidates, Trotz was the only coach the Capitals interviewed. His only hang-up was that he had to wait for a GM to get in place, and to make sure it was someone who shared a similar vision. "Its where I starrted," said Trotz, who coached the Capitals top minor league affiliate in the 1990s before spending 15 seasons with the Predators, "so I feels like I was coming home.dddddddddddd" Leonsis said he was keen to get someone with a solid track record after five consecutive McPhee hires who had no previous NHL head coaching experience. "We are not rebuilding the team," Leonsis said. "But we are going to refresh the team." Ovechkin has been forced to adjust to multiple offensive systems through several coaching changes in recent years. One of Trotzs priorities will be to sit down with the three-time league MVP and discuss the way forward. "My job as a coach is to find a way to allow Alex and the other players to reach their potential as a group, and be able to play together," Trotz said. "One of the very fundamental things, if you have a kindergarten, they give you your report card and they say, Do you play well with others? My job is to get everybody to play well with the others." Trotz downplayed his reputation as a defensive-minded coach, saying he didnt have the same firepower in Nashville that hell have in Washington. "I dont want to take anything away from the Capitals offensively. ... (They have) great power plays and great individuals that can put the puck in the net," Trotz said. "I didnt have that in Nashville. I had some real good players, but not enough up front, so we become a little more of a defensive team." Trotz said he doesnt see why the Capitals cant get back in the Stanley Cup mix right away, assuming they can forge the unified gameplan envisioned by MacLellan. "Theres enough ability here," Trotz said. "We just have to forge a little bit of an identity going forward." 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