While the Buffalo Sabres sit as the ninth-best team in the Eastern Conference, no one predicted even remote playoff contention this season.
The Buffalo Sabres remain a work in progress, but with 56 points heading into the All-Star break, they find themselves in playoff contention amidst what was supposed to be a building year. And by all means, the Sabres are still that building team, as they’re still in pace to put up roughly 93 points, which in the Eastern Conference, probably won’t be enough for a playoff appearance.
That will extend their infamous NHL record for 12 seasons without a berth. The good news? They’re more than just contending to potentially end that streak, even if they’ll probably fall short.
Below, you’ll find three reasons to be proud of the Blue and Gold as they head into the All-Star break. And these are also three reasons the Sabres JUST MIGHT wind up finding themselves in the postseason.
1 – Youth movement
The Buffalo Sabres aren’t just the league’s youngest team. Four of their 23 players on the active roster are rookies, and all four of those rookies are playing at least serviceable hockey. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is coming off of a Rookie of the Month award, and Owen Power is well on his way to contending for the Calder Trophy.
Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka have been up and down, but they’ve shown flashes as part of the budding Kid Line. As time passes, the duo will eventually find some much-needed consistency and you can expect it to occur following the break, just as they did last season in Rochester. It may not be to the same extent, but expect them to be different players starting on February 11th.
2 – Scoring offense
The Buffalo Sabres enter the All-Star break third in goals scored with 186. How good have they been in this category? It’s something we haven’t seen in 30 seasons.
As it stands, the Sabres have five players with 40 or more points, and another five with at least 20 goals. That says a lot about this hockey team and where it’s headed, as four of those five players in both categories are still in their 20s.
3 – Road success
If the Buffalo Sabres earn a playoff berth, they will find themselves on the road more often. But that shouldn’t worry you too much, as this team is 15-7-2 when playing in opposing arenas.
Often, you see young teams struggle on the road, facing hostile environments capable of invading even the most mild-mannered players’ minds. So the Sabres should give themselves credit for not succumbing to this more often than not, and it’s resulted in several successful road trips already this season.
Overall, the Sabres exceeded the expectations of many so far in 2022-23. And you can expect that trend to continue as they head toward Act III in what has so far been an exciting season.
Article Source: Observations: Slow start spoils Sabres’ opportunity to jump into playoff spot by Lance Lysowski
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