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Who were the top penalty kings from the Buffalo Sabres in 2023-24?

Sabres penalty king Rob Ray may have retired nearly two decades ago, but the Blue and Gold still have a fair share of players who spend a lot of time in the box.

By Todd Matthews

Mar 29, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton (75) controls the puck as New Jersey Devils center Curtis Lazar (42) defends during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton (75) controls the puck as New Jersey Devils center Curtis Lazar (42) defends during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports / Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
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As we inch closer to the 2024-25 season, let’s check out some fun facts and stats from the Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 campaign, starting with how the team fared in penalty minutes last year. For starters, the Sabres, from an individual standpoint, only had one player rank in the top 25 in penalty minutes league-wide, and that was Connor Clifton, who finished the season with 88. 

That said, you can put an asterisk beside that because, while Clifton served more penalty minutes than most of his peers, 20 of those minutes came on October 27th when he received a game misconduct and subsequent two-game suspension following a hit to Nico Hischier in a matchup against the New Jersey Devils. 

As for the rest of the Blue and Gold, nobody on the team registered over 70 minutes, with the top three being:

  • Connor Clifton - 88 minutes
  • Peyton Krebs - 67 minutes
  • Rasmus Dahlin - 66 minutes

Source: Hockey-Reference

Pretty much the players you would expect, as both Krebs and Dahlin are known for their aggressive play and willingness to get involved in skirmishes with opponents. Especially Krebs, who finished the season with an average total ice time of just 12:30 across 80 contests, so he made the most of those scuffles.

The Sabres served quite a few penalty minutes per game in 2023-24

We may lament that the Sabres seem to get hit with plenty of unfair penalties throughout the season - such as when a trio of players pushed Zach Benson into the boards, and he somehow got called for roughing. And we also can’t forget when they also got him for what was supposedly a cross-check on Jacob Trouba - I’m still trying to figure that one out. 

Anyway, what’s done is done, and the Blue and Gold finished the season with 9.8 penalties in minutes per game, which was the 10th-highest in the NHL. But the Sabres didn’t help themselves in drawing penalties, ranking 18th in the league in opponent penalties in minutes per game with 9.2, tying them with the Calgary Flames. 

For 2024-25, the Blue and Gold need to keep up an aggressive game, and they will if their recent additions this offseason keep up their respective edgy games. But they must do a better job at drawing penalties than they did last season, and hopefully, that power play also looks more like what we saw in 2022-23 rather than 2023-24.

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