How good were the Buffalo Sabres in March, April 2022?

Throughout the past eleven seasons, there have been moments, months, and even years, where Buffalo Sabres fans were just plain mad. 

Since 2011-12, the Buffalo Sabres have been nothing more than a bunch of faceless men in blue uniforms, passing through the chill of Western New York until an NHL-worthy version of the team showed up. Eventually.

And a few players were only too glad to leave town. Jack Eichel’s relationship with the franchise deteriorated. Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen lost patience. And hordes of other former Sabres from past seasons either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, stick out the perpetual losing.

How good were the Buffalo Sabres against the rest of the NHL in March, April 2022?

While it was too late for the Sabres to seriously contend for a playoff spot, March and April 2022 marked a potential turnaround for the franchise. Over their final 28 games, the Sabres finished 16-9-3 (35 points), good enough for 12th in the league.

Want more fun? They also posted a 0.625 points percentage. Do the math, (164 possible points x 0.625), and it puts the Sabres on pace for 103 points. If only the season started in March! But hey, it gives the team plenty of momentum to build on for 2022-23.

Per the Buffalo News, they beat eight playoff teams total, including their archrival Toronto Maple Leafs three times. Overall, they finished with a 32-39-11 record, good for fifth in the the Atlantic and 11th in the East.

When was the last time the Sabres finished fifth in their respective division? The 2012-13 season. Problem was, there were only five teams in what was then the Northeast. You would need to go back to 2011-12 for when the Sabres finished in the middle of the division.

They also scored at least 230 goals for the first time since 2010-11, the season of their last playoff appearance. While the team’s winning percentage since 2015-16 sat at its third-lowest, the 2021-22 team brought one major difference: They did not collapse as previous incarnations had. 

Remember that 11-3 November the Sabres enjoyed in 2018, only to fall flat on their faces the rest of the way? What about October 2019, when fools gold struck again after a 9-2-2 start? The Sabres hovered around .500 in 2016-17, but they never gained the upper hand that season.

You can argue the 2015-16 version of the team had a similar outing, finishing up with a 10-5-4 record, good for 24 points. Problem was, the Sabres finished 7th in the Atlantic that year and 14th in the East. They didn’t exactly light up the league.

(Statistics provided by Buffalo News)