Buffalo Sabres Season Review: Month By Month

Once again, the Buffalo Sabres found themselves on the outside of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs at this season’s end.

But unlike years past, this year showed a lot of promise for the Buffalo Sabres.

For the first time in three years, the Buffalo Sabres didn’t finish at the bottom of the NHL standings. Their 81 points were a vast improvement over last season.

And though some months were rough, due to injuries, call-ups or just generally, other months brought a sense of possibility.

Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of the Buffalo Sabres 2015-2016 season.

October 2015

Monthly Record: 4-7-0
Overall Record: 4-7-0

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Statistically, October was the worst month for the Buffalo Sabres. The team earned just eight of a possible 22 points – just 36 percent of the points they could’ve earned in the month.

In addition, the Buffalo Sabres struggled to string together wins. Two losses were followed by a win, then two more losses. Another win, then two more losses. A win, followed by a loss, then another win, capped off the month. It was hot and cold, and in a way, this is understandable since the team had several new players still getting used to each other.

Not to mention the Robin Lehner injury which undoubtedly threw everyone for a loop, pushing Chad Johnson somewhat unexpectedly into the starter role.

This month saw both Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart score their first NHL goals, while Linus Ullmark made his long-anticipated NHL debut.

November 2015

Monthly Record: 6-5-2
Overall Record: 10-12-2

The Buffalo Sabres figured out how to get their feet wet in the month of November, and overall earned 54 percent of the possible points this month (14/26).

The month started with a win, which, combined with their victory at the end of October, meant the Buffalo Sabres had strung together two wins for the first time this season. After a loss, Buffalo then went on a three-game winning streak, which seemed pretty solid at the time. Later in the month, they’d lose three straight but rebound to capture two 4-1 wins to close out November.

At this point, things didn’t look too bad. The Buffalo Sabres had earned at least a point in half of their games so far and had 22 points overall on the season.

December 2015

Monthly Record: 5-7-2
Overall Record: 15-19-4

December was filled with streaks. A three-game losing streak was followed by two consecutive wins; later, the Buffalo Sabres would earn three of a possible four points, but then close the month with a three-game losing streak.

Probably not the best way to end the 2015 calendar year.

This month also saw Cal O’Reilly make his debut with the Buffalo Sabres.

In the end, the Buffalo Sabres earned at least a point in half of their games this month, which, again, is not bad, especially when you consider years past.

January 2016

Monthly Record: 5-7-0
Overall Record: 20-26-4

The year of 2016 started off with a sour bang for the Buffalo Sabres. The team had ended 2015 on a three-game losing streak and continued that with three straight losses at the start of 2016.

Yikes. That would be the Buffalo Sabres’ longest losing streak of the season.

The team did manage to scrape together four wins towards the middle of the month, winning four of five between January 10 and January 18. This was good, this was impressive. This looked like things were looking up.

But then again, they dropped three straight, only to close out on the month with a win over the Senators.

This month also saw Lehner return from his injury in the season-opener.

February 2016

Monthly Record: 5-5-3
Overall Record: 25-31-7

The month of February was sort of “meh” for the Buffalo Sabres. They started off the month earning at least a point in the first three games, but then dropped two games in regulation.

It was a little less of an up-and-down month then others, and the Sabres managed to scrounge up a point in three overtime/shootout losses that could’ve otherwise just been regulation losses.

This month saw the Buffalo Sabres get shutout twice, by both the Ducks and Kings. Gross.

Both Dan Catenacci and Justin Bailey made their NHL debuts.

March 2016

Monthly Record: 7-4-4
Overall Record: 32-35-11

Though the Buffalo Sabres played some 15 games in the month of March, making it the busiest month of their NHL season, they only strung together wins once.

That’s right, once again, it was a loss, followed by a win, followed by a loss – perhaps in overtime or a shootout – followed by a win.

But generally, the Buffalo Sabres looked decent this month, and they captured 18 of a possible 30 points, or sixty percent! This was their best month in terms of this all season to this point.

This month saw the introduction of both Hudson Fasching and Casey Nelson to the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup. Both also registered their first NHL points.

April 2016

Monthly Record: 3-1-0
Overall Record: 35-36-11

Technically, this was the Buffalo Sabres’ best month, as they earned 75 percent of the possible points here. But of course – it was only four games.

Overall, the Buffalo Sabres won the first two of this month, which meant a three-game winning streak combined with the February-ending victory over Toronto.

Though they dropped the home closer to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Buffalo Sabres ended the season on a high note, with that 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders in an (essentially) meaningless game.

This month saw Cole Schneider, Evan Rodrigues and Jason Kasdorf all make their NHL debuts with the Buffalo Sabres.

Next: Buffalo Sabres Season Reflection: Firsts

Though the Buffalo Sabres still aren’t quite at the playoff level yet, they’re certainly getting there, and this season was certainly an improvement over the last one.

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