The Buffalo Sabres are off to a hot start, and there are a lot of reasons why. Young players like Tage Thompson, Rasmus Asplund, and Victor Olofsson have all made noticeable strides in the early going. Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski have done a stellar job between the pipes. Don Granato seems to have top-to-bottom “buy-in” from his roster.

Things are going well. It’s difficult to pinpoint the most significant contributing factor to the Sabres’ current 4-1-1 record. A strong argument can be made, however, that the blueline renovation that took place this summer has been the most critical piece.

Through a couple of low-cost acquisitions and one major subtraction (we all know what I’m referring to, so there’s no reason to relitigate it here), the Sabres’ have played like one of the best defensive groups in hockey to start the 2021-22 campaign.

With a team xGA/60 rate of 2.05 through six games, Buffalo ranks sixth in the NHL. That’s a pretty big deal for a squad that finished 28^th in that area last season (xGA/60 of 2.56 on the year).

All three of the team’s defensive pairings have fared reasonably well so far, but none more so than the tandem of Robert Hagg and Mark Pysyk. With a current xG rate of 61.45% as a pair, they have been the most effective duo on the blue line to this point. This figure is particularly impressive when you consider that a staggering 85.71% of their zone-starts have come in their end.

So, why are these two players performing so well together? We all know that Pysyk has been something of an “analytics darling” for his entire career, but the opposite can be said for Hagg. Leading up to this season, he held a career xG rate of just under 46%. His WAR of -2.8 was the fifth-lowest mark among 239 NHL defensemen who played a minimum of 1,000 minutes from 2018 to 2021.

Let’s take a closer look at the metrics behind this pairing’s success, as well as some video clips outlining how Pysyk and Hagg’s respective skillsets have meshed to form an extremely effective defensive shutdown pairing to this point.

Film Observations

In watching the first six games of the 2021-22 campaign, it’s easy to recognize that Pysyk and Hagg are performing well. I wanted to go back and hone in on the details of their shifts, specifically to highlight why the underlying metrics are so outstanding.

These players don’t make many highlight-reel plays, so to the average viewer, at the moment, it could be tough to appreciate all of the “little things” they do properly (on an incredibly consistent basis). Going into this exercise, I wanted to focus on the positional intelligence I’ve noticed from this pair to see if I could find plays or sequences to support (or perhaps refute) my initial analysis.

I did not come away disappointed.

Positional Intelligence

Let’s start with what I feel is this pair’s greatest strength. From a macro perspective, Hagg and Pysyk both seem to have a seamless understanding of where their partner is supposed to be, particularly in the defensive zone. This has resulted in a high rate of zone-exit efficiency, which has helped them produce such a high xG rate despite a very lopsided zone-deployment ratio (as previously referenced).

In the clip above, we see a rather routine play, but it’s one that the Sabres’ defense has so often bungled over the years. The sequence begins behind the Buffalo net with a bit of a sloppy play of the puck by Craig Anderson. Jeff Skinner ends up in a puck battle along the boards.

To his left is Hagg. Instead of joining the fray, Hagg notices Jake DeBrusk positioning himself to recover the loose puck in case it comes free down the wall. Hagg recognizes this and positions his body in front of DeBrusk. This allows him to calmly distribute the loose puck to Dylan Cozens, who then taps it to Pysyk for a clean, controlled zone-exit pass.

This isn’t a rare occurrence. Hagg is often found closer to puck battles along the boards, while Pysyk remains in a strong position on the periphery. This is a good approach, considering how well Hagg uses his body, and the efficient way Pysyk produces accurate zone-exit passes in space.

Here is an example of what I just referenced regarding Hagg’s physical presence. He uses his positioning to force Steven Stamkos to the outside on the offensive rush. He then delivers a body check once Stamkos is no longer in a position to use his shot. This creates a loose puck, which Pysyk partially recovers.

What gets lost on this play is what happens after Hagg hits Stamkos into the boards. Instead of trying to stick with Stamkos and tie him up in front of Anderson, Hagg drifts to an open area in the slot. This puts him in an excellent position to receive a pass from Anders Bjork and start the counter-rush.

Not to drift too far from the topic, but I’m going to grandstand about physicality for a moment. There is a narrative that analytics folks don’t appreciate physical play, and that’s not true. Physicality is a great trait, but when a player puts themselves out of position because they are prone to play the body instead of the puck, that’s a problem.

Hagg’s ability to lay the body has been great because he knows when it’s advantageous to use. He rarely ends up out of position as a result. This is the exact opposite of what we saw from Rasmus Ristolainen over the years. We weren’t upset that he could lay the lumber, we were upset at what it cost.

The last clip in this section isn’t a “good play” because the Bruins’ sequence was sloppy from the start. What I found interesting, however, is how Pysyk and Hagg were situated in anticipation of the incoming attack.

As you can see, Hagg is up in the play to try and blow up the zone-entry before it even starts. He is successful (partially his doing, partially because the pass was bad), but look where his partner is. Pysyk recognizes that, should the puck get past Hagg, Tomas Nosek is pressuring from the left. So, he positions himself deeper in the defensive zone so that he’s able to impede Nosek, should the puck make it to his stick.

Again, it’s nothing that would jump out at you, but another strong example of positional awareness. Not just being cognizant of their places on the ice, but how their positioning relates to their partner’s. It’s great that these two have developed such a strong rapport just six games into the season.

Mistake Recovery

To be clear, the point of this piece isn’t to say that Pysyk and Hagg are playing flawless hockey. Yes, they’re doing a lot more good than not, but they are not immune to mistakes. In Hagg’s case, he tends to put the puck into dangerous areas when his back is to the play. The clip below is a prime example.

As for Pysyk, fans have taken notice of his willingness to jump into the offensive attack this year. He can get a little overzealous in that pursuit at times. In this particular sequence, he immerses himself in the offensive cycle, firing three shot attempts in the same shift.

That’s fine and all, but his decision to crash the net at the end of the cycle puts Hagg in a bad position on a 2-on-1. Fortunately, Hagg plays it splendidly and thwarts the opportunity, but that decision by Pysyk could have cost the Sabres.

The reason why these plays stick out is that most of the time when Hagg and Pysyk do make mistakes, they recover in a way that could disguise the fact that the misplay even occurred in the first place.

In the only “highlight reel” clip I’ve included, Pysyk comes from behind Stamkos and cleanly stops an outstanding breakaway opportunity. Said opportunity only occurred, however, as a result of Pysyk and Hagg cheating up in the play a bit, allowing Stamkos to get in position behind them.

After the breakup, Pysyk kind of wafts an exit attempt that Hagg finishes. It doesn’t result in a controlled exit, but both players were calm and regained position after Stamkos got free, which allowed the Buffalo forwards to get back into the play in support.

Another example of this tandem recovering from a sloppy play came very early in the game against Tampa Bay. Pysyk sends an errant pass in Hagg’s direction behind the Sabres’ net. Ondrej Palat recovers the puck. Pysyk then engages in a puck battle, recovering possession.

What’s great about this play is that it’s another example of Hagg recognizing Stamkos’ position, and reacting accordingly. He sees that Stamkos is ready behind the net in case Pysyk tries to fling the puck back around the boards to his partner.

Both players notice this, and Hagg once again positions himself in an open area out-front (where Pysyk can see him) to receive the pass and complete the zone exit. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll reiterate that despite none of this being “sexy”, it’s tactically efficient.

Closing Thoughts

Before diving into the weeds on film, it would have been easy for me to push the narrative that Pysyk’s historically positive impacts on his defensive partners are the sole reason why this pairing is working so well. While his contributions are a major factor, Hagg is certainly holding up his end of the bargain.

As illustrated above, he is playing his role very well, and it doesn’t appear as though Pysyk is “bailing him out” very often. This is simply a case of two players who understand each other very well and play intelligent positional hockey to form an effective shutdown tandem.

On paper, it wouldn’t seem like these two hold “complementary skill sets” in a traditional sense. When you factor in how they’re being used, however, the combination of net-front presence, physicality, and transition ability makes them a perfect match.

This type of skill balance is the only way a defensive pair can hold a 15% OZS rate and still survive (let alone thrive) from an xG standpoint. Kudos to Granato and his staff for recognizing that.

As previously stated, I recognize that it’s early in the season. Hopefully, their metrics hold up over the next 76 games, because the Pysyk-Hagg pairing is a big part of the Sabres’ success so far.

Charts and Advanced Data courtesy of Evolving Hockey, Hockeyviz, and Natural Stat Trick

Photo Credit: Timothy Ludwig USA Today Images