Who are the Buffalo Sabres? This is a question many fans have asked themselves all season given the trials and tribulations this team has put itself through.
The Buffalo Sabres have seen some great moments, not-so-great moments, and just flat out ugly moments throughout their 2021-22 campaign. And while it’s easy to argue the Sabres grew in their valiant but losing effort to the Florida Panthers on Sunday, April 3rd, it was just one of four straight outings against the NHL’s Eastern Conferences best hockey teams.
On April 5th and April 7th, the Sabres have back-to-back affairs against the mighty Carolina Hurricanes. Then they get to return to Sunrise for a dance with the Florida Panthers. During this stretch, we will discover who the Buffalo Sabres really are this season.
Why we will discover the Buffalo Sabres true identity this week
The Sabres have done it all this season against the league’s best teams. In March, they pulled off some dramatic upsets against the likes of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs (twice), and the Calgary Flames.
But the Sabres have also suffered a plethora of blowout losses. Just last month, the Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers outscored them 15-2. And let’s not even talk about what happened when injuries and COVID hit the team hard earlier in the year – it wasn’t a healthy team and it’s unfair to pass judgment onto them.
The Sabres got healthy in March and they played better hockey, evidenced by their 8-3-3 record. They were on the verge of suffering another blowout loss to the Panthers on Sunday, but they came together and turned it into a closer outing. So kudos to the Sabres.
Now, it’s time to see whether a healthy Sabres team can steal one from the Hurricanes, or skate into FLA Live Arena and upset the league’s second-best team. If the Sabres can pull off a few more upsets, especially on the looming road trip, we can confidently say they’re a team that turned the corner.
But if they fail and suffer a losing streak akin to what occurred in February, it’s easy to say the Sabres, once again, handed their fans a slab of fools gold in March 2022. We will find out in the very near future who these Buffalo Sabres are.