Buffalo Sabres need to figure out how to get back in sync
By Sion Fawkes
It’s been a common theme all season long – the Buffalo Sabres have enjoyed times where they looked really good, and have struggled as well.
You couldn’t have asked for a better start for the Buffalo Sabres in their loss against the Calgary Flames today. At the end of the first frame, Buffalo went into the locker room leading 2-0, despite only taking three shots.
Then they allowed six unanswered goals in a game that was arguably their worst performance of the season, even following a stellar first period. The Blue and Gold routinely allowed breakaways (again). They let an opponent push them around (again). And besides the first period, they looked totally out of sync offensively (again).
Want more fun? Midway through the game, the Flames outshot the Sabres 26-4. And in all honesty, the Sabres are lucky their latest miserable outing was just 6-2 following a Calgary power play goal.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made several saves that should have otherwise been shoo-in goals, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if Buffalo allowed double-digits had someone like Eric Comrie been between the pipes. Overall, the Sabres lost this one 7-2 in a game that was never really competitive following the first 30 minutes.
Buffalo Sabres need to find some much-needed consistency
Go back to October 2022, and Buffalo looked great. Fast-forward to November, and they suffered through an eight-game losing streak, before storming through the second half of the month and throughout December. Between November 22nd and December 31st, they went 11-3-2. 19-8-4 when you throw in January.
But even in January, the Sabres struggled, starting the month 3-5-1 before embarking on a five-game winning streak. They ended the month with a shootout loss on the 28th, and have yet to find their rhythm since, letting opponents outscore them 12-3.
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Until Buffalo can find some consistency, they will remain a middle-of-the-pack NHL team. Sure, they’re way better than they were this time last season, there’s no doubt about it. But expectations have risen for the Sabres, and it’s high time to play smart, patient hockey throughout the final two months of the season.
(Data provided by Hockey-Reference)
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