Any fan who is continuing to watch the Buffalo Sabres every game day has a very high pain tolerance and knows that there are so many problems with the team right now. Possibly the most significant issue that Buffalo has right now is the difference between their shots on goal per game and their opponents.
I looked at the shots on goal stats for each game of the Sabres’ now 14-game losing streak. It is not pretty. Buffalo has been outshot 481 to 328 over their last 14 games. That is a -152 difference over that span of games. A goalie can only do so much while seeing so many shots.
Over the last 14 games, the Sabres have averaged 23.43 shots on goal per game, compared to allowing 34.36 shots on goal. To put that into perspective, the Chicago Blackhawks currently allow the most shots on goal per game with 33.9. So through Buffalo’s losing streak, they have allowed more shots on goal on average than the team that statistically allows the most.
If you look at the game by game stats, some shot totals are hard to believe, especially if you consider that the Sabres are always trying to come from behind. The worst of which was a game against the New York Islanders that the Sabres were outshot 45 to 18. There have only been two games out of the last 14 that Buffalo has outshot their opponent.
I know it is easy to point to the goalie stats and say that they are why the team is playing so poorly. It does look that the Sabres’ lack of acquiring a goalie this offseason is going to come back to haunt them, but the goalies alone are nowhere near the entire reason Buffalo is the worst team in the league.
It is due to an offense that cannot sustain extended offensive zone time, a defense that allows opponents to have an abundance of scoring chances, and goaltenders that are unable to make necessary saves consistently. Oh, and the entire issues that have plagued the coaching staff this season has not helped either.