Sabre Noise
Fansided

Buffalo Sabres: 3 things that must happen for 2021 playoff run

By Matt Hawkins

OTTAWA, ON - FEBRUARY 18: Brandon Montour #62 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrates his second goal of the game against the Ottawa Senators with teammates Jack Eichel #9, Sam Reinhart #23 and Rasmus Ristolainen #55 in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on February 18, 2020 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - FEBRUARY 18: Brandon Montour #62 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrates his second goal of the game against the Ottawa Senators with teammates Jack Eichel #9, Sam Reinhart #23 and Rasmus Ristolainen #55 in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on February 18, 2020 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 7: Jeff Skinner #53 of the Buffalo Sabres is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 7, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 7: Jeff Skinner #53 of the Buffalo Sabres is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 7, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

What three things need to happen for the Buffalo Sabres in 2021 for them to finally claim their ticket into the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

For the last nine seasons, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have evaded the grasp of the Buffalo Sabres. There have been several reasons why this has happened including a lack of talent, poor goaltending, poor coaching, etc.

However, over the last two seasons, Buffalo has had a team that is arguably talented enough to make the playoffs, yet they have still not been able to get over the hump.

In 2018-19, Jeff Skinner put up an arguably MVP-caliber season, scoring 40 goals in his first season with Buffalo. However, despite a 10-game winning streak from Nov. 8 to Nov. 27 and Skinner’s efforts, the Sabres still managed to miss the playoffs.

Last season, Buffalo once again started the season red-hot — winning eight of their first 10 contests. However, the rest of the season saw them hold six losing streaks of at least three games — including two that lasted six games — and miss the playoffs once again despite a heroic effort from captain Jack Eichel who scored 78 points in 68 games.

So what do the Sabres have to do to right the ship and finally make the Stanley Cup Playoffs again?

3. The Buffalo Sabres need consistent scoring depth to make the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Sabres finished in the bottom half of the NHL in goals for last season — 21st out of 31 to be exact. This is because of the team’s lack of scoring depth.

Buffalo’s top scorer was Eichel with 78 points and 36 goals in just 68 games. Over a full season, this would’ve been good for 93 points and 43 goals.

After Eichel, the Sabres only had one player with at least 50 points and two players with at least 20 goals. One of these players was forward Sam Reinhart with 50 points and 22 goals in 69 games, and the other was rookie right wing Victor Olofsson with 20 goals in 54 games.

Related Story. Which Sabres players will score the most goals in 2021?. light

Over a full season, Reinhart would’ve been good for 26 goals and 59 points, and Olofsson for 24 goals and 50 points.

The biggest issue here is that Jeff Skinner wasn’t one of the team’s top scorers. After scoring 40 goals in 2018-19 and receiving a huge eight-year, $72 million extension in June of 2019, he greatly regressed and disappointed.

Skinner managed to score just 14 goals and 23 points in 59 games this past season — good for just 17 goals and 28 points over a full season.

If the Sabres want to make the playoffs in 2021, they’re going to need more from every one of their forwards — especially highly paid players such as Skinner, Kyle Okposo, and now Taylor Hall.

Home/Sabres News