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Buffalo Sabres Schedule: Revisiting February

By Richard Spalding

Jan 20, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson (31) is congratulated by defenseman Cody Franson (6) and center Sam Reinhart (23) after beating the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center. Sabres beat the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson (31) is congratulated by defenseman Cody Franson (6) and center Sam Reinhart (23) after beating the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center. Sabres beat the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Over the summer, we predicted how the Buffalo Sabres would fare during each month of their 2016-17 schedule.   Now that we have a clearer picture of how the team is playing, we take a second look.

Before the Buffalo Sabres opened their 2016-17 schedule, I took some time out of my summer to predict how the team would perform in each month of the regular season.

Obviously, my crystal ball failed to predict that Jack Eichel and Evander Kane would both miss a significant number of games due to injuries sustained by the close of opening night.  Likewise, I could not foresee that the Sabres as a whole would have suffered the third-most man-games lost to injury (thanks to Man-Games Lost.com).

Even so, I predicted that the Buffalo Sabres would be 22-21-6 when February started, good for 50 points.  With one game left in January, the Sabres currently own a record of 20-19-9, good for . . . 49 points.

Dammit I am good.

So how did I think the Sabres would do in February?  Allow me to quote myself:

"February definitely looks like a month in which the team could pick up some ground.  Between 9 home games and the All-Star break, the Sabres will have some fresh legs at their disposal.  You also have to assume that lines will be firing on all-cylinders by this point (injuries notwithstanding).  If this is a team that wants to avoid being a lottery team yet again, now is the time for team to make the sort of late-season punch fans have been waiting for since 2011.Prediction: 8-5-1"

Do I still think the Sabres can play over .500 hockey next month?   Here’s a look at Buffalo’s schedule:

February schedule:

Thursday, February 2: New York Rangers vs. Sabres

Saturday, February 4: Ottawa Senators vs. Sabres

Monday, February 6: Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils

Tuesday, February 7: San Jose Sharks vs. Sabres

Thursday, February 9: Anaheim Ducks vs. Sabres

Saturday, February 11: Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Sunday, February 12: Vancouver Canucks vs. Sabres

Tuesday, February 14: Sabres vs. Ottawa Senators

Thursday, February 16: Colorado Avalanche vs. Sabres

Saturday, February 18: St. Louis Blues vs. Sabres

Sunday, February 19: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Sabres

Saturday, February 25: Sabres vs. Colorado Avalanche

Sunday, February 26: Sabres vs. Arizona Coyotes

Tuesday, February 28: Nashville Predators vs. Sabres

When nine of the fourteen games that you play in a month are on your home ice, you have to like your chances of playing winning hockey.  Granted, the Sabres’ home record of 11-8-3 won’t fill their opponents with fear, but it’s clear this team has been much tougher to beat at KeyBank Center than they were on home ice last season.

Next: The Nicolas Deslauriers Conundrum

Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s game against Montreal, the Buffalo Sabres will finish with a wining record in the month of January, thanks to an offense that has scored 3.33 goals per game since the calendar switched over to 2017.   With a roster that is almost perfectly healthy and some real chemistry being developed, I feel good about Buffalo’s chances to make a respectable playoff push in February, so I will stand by my original prediction of 8-5-1.

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