Revisiting why the Buffalo Sabres are closer than most think
The Buffalo Sabres are suffering through their worst stretch since February 2022 and they have looked like an AHL team half the time.
The Buffalo Sabres may have been nothing short of abysmal over the past two-and-a-half weeks. But that doesn’t mean they are as bad as many want them to be. One reason is that this team pulled off, from March 2022 to November 2nd, 2022, a record of 23-12-3 (49 points). Since then, they have been 0-8-0, but case in point, bad hockey teams don’t go 23-12-3 over a 38-game stretch.
And no, great teams don’t drop eight in a row and look like a completely different hockey team in the process. But the youngest team in any of the four major pro sports leagues will. And the experts in the room know this, like those over at Pro Hockey Rumors. Let’s take a look at what they had to say:
“As things have turned around, especially in the last couple years under Adams and Granato, the team has found positive consistency, such as the breakout and stability of players like Thompson and Dahlin, the revitalization of Skinner, or even in more low-key situations, such as the calming presence of veteran goaltender Craig Anderson.” – via John Gilroy of Pro Hockey Rumors.
Buffalo Sabres just need to find consistency and keep it
Gilroy does a good job at dissecting the reason behind the Sabres current losing streak. At the time, they were 7-10-0, so he listed the following playoff-caliber teams they could not beat:
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Boston Bruins
- And I’ll go ahead and add the Toronto Maple Leafs
Not the easiest slate of games by a longshot. And while he did point out the Sabres should not have dropped all three games to lesser teams like the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, and Ottawa Senators, he also pointed out another obvious:
“Now, let’s be realistic, good teams are allowed to lose to bad teams, are allowed to have off nights, and are allowing to have some losing streaks here and there. It happens to the best of them.” – John Gilroy via Pro Hockey Rumors
Translation: Most teams go through bad stretches, good and bad. He ended his segment by commenting the sheer number of times the Buffalo Sabres did offer that fool’s gold, however. For a moment, they have the NHL universe thinking that they have moved on to the next phase of their rebuild, only to take an infamous step back.
Case in point, losing badly, even after looking as though they turned a corner, is something that young, inexperienced, but talent-laden teams do. And that describes the Sabres to a T. Overall, they need to find and keep that consistency, and that will come with time. But the fanbase needs to give Don Granato and Kevyn Adams a chance to make that happen.
Given their ability to accumulate winning records at certain stretches, it shows the Buffalo Sabres are closer than everyone wants them to be. They just haven’t found out how to win consistently, but each loss puts them one step closer to finding that formula for success.
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You either win or you learn, and right now, the Sabres are learning how to win consistently. When they master the art of consistency, this team will contend for the playoffs.
Article Source: What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres by John Gilroy
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