Buffalo Sabres January Losing Streak
By Tim Redinger
The calendar still says January, but possibly good for the Buffalo Sabres is the fact that there are no more hockey games to be played this month.
The Buffalo Sabres played twelve games in the month of January, and were outscored 51-18. If you stretch the statistics back to the start of the fourteen game losing streak, the team has been outscored a massive 61-21 by their opponents in that stretch.
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That is an average of just 1.5 goals per game, compared to the 2.91 goals they have been allowing. Certainly several games in that stretch have inflated that number. They allowed five or more goals seven times, including a 7-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild that snapped a losing streak for the Wild. They had been losers of twelve of their last 14 games.
It isn’t all sorts of negative – well it is, but lets look at the bright spots shall we? The Buffalo Sabres have scored first in the first five games, but the team is weak and allows other teams to get back into games and take control.
It hasn’t been for lack of trying in the last fourteen games, sure some games stand out as what the hell was that (Wild winning 7-0). But the simple fact of the matter, is that the Buffalo Sabres aren’t that good of a hockey club, and no teams want to be the one that lose to the team ending what is looking like it is going to turn into an NHL record losing streak.
Chris Stewart has this to say, via Sabres.com:
"“No one’s going to want to be that team who kind of gave up that losing streak to us. We’re going into Montreal and that’s a team that we’ve been playing well against lately, but they’re going to be ready for us.”"
The Buffalo Sabres have the weekend off, and their next game is against the Montreal Canadiens. The Buffalo Sabres are currently 0-4 on this road trip, and would very much like to end the losing against Montreal. They haven’t won a game on the road since last stopping in Montreal back at the end of November, so maybe there is magic in the water.
February doesn’t look to be any friendlier to the Buffalo Sabres. There are thirteen games in February, and save for one four day break, it is petty much hockey every other night. Thirteen games in 28 days is a lot, and won’t leave a lot of room for the team to work on things that are wrong with their system.
Buffalo Sabres PowerPlay vs Short Handed
Chris Stewart has given the Buffalo Sabres a boost on the power-play as well, with PPG in two of the last three games (there wasn’t much of a special teams battle in the game versus Edmonton), but that doesn’t change the fact that in 73 man advantages so far this season, the Buffalo Sabres have scored eight goals. That’s a league worse 11 percent.
The Sabres have also given up a league high eight short handed goals (Jhonas Enroth – 5, Michal Neuvirth – 3). While that is a league high for the team, the Toronto Maple Leafs are right behind the Sabres with 7, with Jonathan Bernier leading the league with six short handed goals allowed.