Buffalo Sabres Season Recap Vs. Metropolitan Division

By Melissa Kania | May 9, 2015

The Buffalo Sabres garnered 14 of a possible 48 points against teams from the Metropolitan Division this season.

Out of 24 games played against teams from the Metropolitan Division, the Buffalo Sabres won six games.

Overall, the team’s record this past season against Metropolitan Division opponents was 6-16-2, with two shootout losses. (Total Sabres season record: 23-51-8).

Throughout the course of the season, the Buffalo Sabres played each Metropolitan Division team three times.

They were able to pull off wins against five of the eight teams in the division.

In the end, the Buffalo Sabres were most successful against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Sabres walked out of the season series with four of a possible six points. Overall, that meant being slightly outscored by the ‘Canes, but by a narrow margin: 11-10. The Sabres took one of their wins in a shootout, too.

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Of all the teams in the Metropolitan Division, Carolina was the only team that the Buffalo Sabres managed to put up two wins against.

Of the 24 games played against these teams, 10 were decided by one goal. That includes three shootout wins pulled off by the Sabres against Carolina, New York (Islanders) and Philadelphia.

This season, the Buffalo Sabres were shut out by teams from the Metropolitan Division four times, including 5-0 and 2-0 losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In an additional nine games, the Sabres were able to put up just one goal.

It should come as no surprise, then, that two teams that the Sabres really struggled against this season were the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sabres lost all six games to those two teams combined.

The Rangers outscored the Sabres by an 11-2 margin, while the Penguins outscored Buffalo by a 13-1 margin, including the pair of shutouts.

All in all, teams from the Metropolitan Division outscored the Sabres by a margin of 81-42.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of their record against each team:

vs. Carolina Hurricanes: 2 wins, 1 loss
vs. Columbus Blue Jackets: 1 win, 2 losses
vs. New Jersey Devils: 2 losses, 1 shootout loss
vs. New York Islanders: 1 win, 2 losses
vs. New York Rangers: 3 losses
vs. Philadelphia Flyers: 1 win, 2 losses
vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 losses
vs. Washington Capitals: 1 win, 1 loss, 1 shootout loss

Just like their struggles against teams from the Atlantic Division, it’s crucial that the Buffalo Sabres find a way to be successful against teams from the Metropolitan Division next season. Though the competition isn’t as much the same as with divisional foes, these teams are all in the same conference and you’re still fighting for those playoff spots at the end of the day.

Games against Metropolitan Division foes amounted for roughly 29.27 percent of the Buffalo Sabres’ games this season — second-most only to the Atlantic Division.

Can the Buffalo Sabres find ways to be successful against these teams? Can they find ways to shut down the Penguins and the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, or the Rangers and their stars? Will the Sabres win at least one game against those teams next season?

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