Buffalo Sabres: Most goals to start a season

The 2018-19 NHL season has started off fantastically for the Buffalo Sabres. Through 20 games, the Buffalo Sabres are in third place in the Atlantic Division and 5th in the overall league standings. The Sabres now have 26 points through 20 points. The Sabres have had 26 points through 20 games 7 times and have made the playoffs in each of those seasons.

The Sabres have been led by their newly anointed captain Jack Eichel and 2 new acquisitions.

On defense, 2018 first overall draft pick Rasmus Dahlin has played up to his expectations. Dahlin leads rookie defensemen with 10 points (tied with Dennis Cholowski of Detroit), even strength goals, plus/minus, and in point shares. Dahlin has also assumed the role of top defenseman on the power play. And to top it off, Rasmus Dahlin is the youngest defenseman NHL.

On offense, Jeff Skinner has quickly become the top acquisition of the Jason Botterill era. Skinner’s 14 goals are good for 2nd best in the NHL behind David Pastrnak of Boston. We’ll break down Skinner’s great start in a bit.

The Buffalo Sabres have had numerous top level goal scorers throughout the organization’s history, many of whom did not make this list. Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Alexander Mogilny, Dale Hawerchuk, and Pierre Turgeon did not crack the list of best starts to a season.

Therefore, with the Buffalo Sabres off to their best start in almost a decade and Jeff Skinner scoring goals at a top rate, let’s take a look at the 4 best starts to a season in Buffalo Sabres franchise history.

Dave Andreychuk

Dave Andreychuk is one of 2 Hall of Famers and one of 2 members of the 1992-93 Buffalo Sabres team on this list.

Andreychuk was one of 3 first round picks for the Sabres in the 1982 NHL draft. The Sabres also drafted Paul Cyr and Hall of Fame defenseman and current head coach Phil Housley in that draft.

The 1992-93 season would be Dave Andreychuk’s last season in Buffalo. After 10 1/2 seasons with the Sabres, Andreychuk was sent with Darren Puppa and a first round draft pick to Toronto for Grant Fuhr and a fifth round draft pick.

Before Andreychuk was traded though, he scored the most goals to start a season in Buffalo Sabres history. Andreychuk tallied 17 goals in the first 20 games of the season. Of course this was a different NHL than today and Andreychuk’s 17 goals were good for only fourth in the league.

Andreychuk was also in the top ten in the league through 20 games in assists (15), points (17), and shots on goal. The 1992-93 season would end up being his second straight 50 goal season (he also put up 50 goals in 1993-94).

The Dave Andreychuk trade is still considered by many Sabres fans as one of the worst trades in club history. Andreychuk went on to excel in Toronto with a 50 goal season, an all-star game, and 2 appearances in the conference finals. Meanwhile Grant Fuhr only played in 64 games for the Buffalo Sabres. Dave Andreychuk remains in the top 10 in virtually every career offensive statistic for the Sabres.

Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek is (in)famous for starting off the season strong and scoring goals with ease in October. Vanek has 4 of the Buffalo Sabres top 12 season starts. His best start was in 2008 when he netted 15 goals in the first 20 games.

Vanek was drafted 5th overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft and was full time player with the Sabres only 2 years later. Traded to the New York Islanders in his 10th season, Vanek put up gaudy goal numbers in his 9 years in Buffalo.

Thomas Vanek scored 20 goals every year in Buffalo, including two 40 goal and two 30 goal seasons. Vanek is 5th all time in Sabres history in goals scored and he played in less games with the Sabres than anyone who is higher on the list than he is. Making the numbers more impressive is the fact that Vanek played in the era of the neutral ice trap, left wing lock, etc.

The Buffalo Sabres were one year away from their Northeast Division title in 2009-10 when Thomas Vanek exploded for 15 goals in October and November of 2008. After 20 games, Vanek was tied for the league lead in goals with Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Sabres as a club also started the season red hot, winning 6 of their first 7 games. The success quickly fell apart though as the Sabres proceeded to lose 11 of their next 16 games.

Thomas Vanek played in 36 playoff games with the Buffalo Sabres however the club never reached the heights it saw in the first 2 years of Vanek’s career. Regardless, Vanek is still one of the most prolific scorers in franchise history.

Jeff Skinner

We have had a lot to say about Jeff Skinner to start this season and with good reason. The combination of Skinner’s early success combined with the success of the rest of the club has Sabres fans in good spirits heading into Thanksgiving.

Jeff Skinner came to Buffalo on a quiet summer Thursday evening and has quickly made an indelible impression.

Head coach Phil Housley started the year with the forward line of Skinner-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart that everyone was expecting, however the line did not produce as everyone expected.

Skinner was pointless in his first 4 games but a West Coast road trip changed everything. After only putting up 1 goal and 1 assist in his first 6 games, Skinner has 13 goals and 6 assists in the next 14 games.

Jeff Skinner’s 14 goals are good for 2nd in the league and is production has been a key component of the Sabres’ offensive resurgence. After a dismal 2017-18 season in which the Sabres were the only team in the league to fail to score 200 goals, the club is on pace for 246 goals, an almost 25% improvement.

Since being reunited towards the end of October, the combination of Skinner and Eichel have 43 points, on of the highest totals in the league.

The Buffalo Sabres came into this season in desperate need of more offense. Especially concerning was the fact that as bad as last season was offensively, the Sabres still started the year with Evander Kane and Ryan O’Reilly.

In his first 20 games as a Buffalo Sabres, Jeff Skinner has easily erased those concerns.