Buffalo Sabres Struggled With Injuries This Season

When looking back at the Buffalo Sabres season, there are several things that stand out. Overall, the team struggled throughout the season, capped off by a 30th-place finish and a second-overall draft pick in June. One of the key contributions to this struggle was, once again, injuries.

Now, of course, this is nothing new. Every team in the NHL, in hockey, in sports in general, has to deal with injuries. By no means is it a great excuse for a poor performance in a game or a season. The team has to deal with adversity and buck up and get to work.

But that isn’t easy to do when players are constantly dropping, half your lineup (or so it seems) is from the American Hockey League, and you can’t keep a consistent roster to save your life.

The Buffalo Sabres finished the 2014-2015 NHL regular season third in the league in man games lost.

The Sabres lost 368 man games through the season. Only Colorado (495) and Columbus (508) lost more, while Montreal (88) had the fewest man-games lost.

Of course, as I said, this isn’t the sole reason why the Sabres finished where they did. After all, Anaheim (355) and Pittsburgh (343) had significant man-games lost, but still managed to make the playoffs. It’s all about filling the spots where you can and trying to overcome the struggles.

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The Sabres had 179 team-reported injuries throughout the season – significantly less than teams like Columbus (393), Colorado (378) and even Pittsburgh (320).

Injuries on the Sabres roster this season were often lengthy ones, such as Josh Gorges‘ injury that caused him to miss 28 games, or Zemgus Girgensons‘ injury that kept him out for 21.

Marcus Foligno was out for 19 games, Kaleta missed 14 games due to injury, etc.

Gorges’ injury in particular provided a hit to the Buffalo Sabres’ blueline. Add that to the trade of Tyler Myers, and the Sabres’ defense corps wasn’t looking too good. Zach Bogosian helped eat a lot of ice time and fill that empty spot as best he could, but still – the injury hurt. (No pun intended.)

One of the places where the Sabres’ injuries really took a toll on the team: goaltending. Once again, it was a bit of a carousel in the net for Buffalo.

Matt Hackett was out a good portion of the season trying to return from injury. Chad Johnson hit the injured list before he even played a game in the blue and gold. Even Michal Neuvirth was injured at one point.

Once again, those injuries, combined with the trades made by GM Tim Murray, led to an unstable, inconsistent roster. Throughout the season, the Buffalo Sabres made 43 recalls to the American Hockey League, bringing up guys like Tim Schaller, Johan Larsson and Mikhail Grigorenko. Compare that to the 2013-14 season, which saw the Sabres make 35 recalls (still a decent number.)

The good news is this: next season should be a lot brighter.

Trade acquisition Evander Kane should return from his injury to play his first game in a Buffalo Sabres uniform. He should prove to be a great addition to the team, playing alongside guys like Girgensons, Sam Reinhart and the like (*cough*Eichel*cough).

Josh Gorges should also be back from injury. Chad Johnson should be back to suit up in the blue and gold as one of the netminders. Girgensons should be healthy and able to return, and the Sabres should be able to put together a solid core group of players to hit the ice at First Niagara Center in October.

Next: Hodgson's Season of Disappointment

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