Coming into this past season, many thought that the Buffalo Sabres actually had formed a high-powered offense. The key additions being Taylor Hall and Eric Staal coming to Buffalo. Adding them to a team that already had established goalscorers such as Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart seemed like it would produce some excitement. Well, that was not the case.
In a season riddled with injuries and poor coaching, we never got to see this offense perform to its full potential. The Sabres ended the season averaging just 2.39 goals per game, ranking them at 28th in the league. Before the season started, you would have thought this team would have been a significantly above average goal-scoring team.
Buffalo was also below average in average shots on goal to go along with their lack of goals scored. With only 28.4 shots on goal per game, that was only good enough for the 26th best in the NHL. This stat certainly correlates with the small number of goals scored per game.
The only significant offensive stat the Sabres were above average in this year was power play percentage. Buffalo scored on 21.0% of their chances on the man advantage throughout the year. This was good enough for the 12th best power play unit in the league. And given how many changes that unit went through this year, especially after losing Eichel and trading Hall, it is impressive how well they performed.
If you look at individual stats, one player led the team in both total points and goals scored. Sam Reinhart tallied the most goals on the team with 25 and the most points with 40 in just 54 games played. His 15 assists were good enough for fourth on the team. Victor Olofsson led the team in assists with 19. He also finished the season with 32 points, which was the second-most on the team.
Although some players showed up offensively, the team as a whole was significantly below average on that side of the puck. It is a shame that the Sabres could not unlock the full potential of the roster they formed before this past season started.