The Buffalo Sabres are an improved hockey team, but they are still flawed. And in February 2023, the Blue and Gold have been bleak.
The Buffalo Sabres 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night epitomized how February 2023 has gone for this team. After embarking on a seven-game point streak to end January, the Sabres have since fallen flat on their faces, limping to a hideous 2-4-0 mark this month with no signs of “slowing down.”
But how bad have the Sabres been? Almost as bad as they were in February 2022. Here is a snippet of how poorly this team’s played. In February 2023, the Sabres have:
- 4.67 goals allowed – 31st in NHL
- 62.5% penalty kill – 32nd in NHL
- 3.17 goals for – 18th in NHL
- 15.8% power play – 15th in NHL
Clearly, Buffalo has been one of the better teams in the league overall on the power play and in scoring, so dropping to 18th and 15th in those categories, respectively, is below average. Meanwhile, their 4.67 goals allowed and meager 62.5% penalty kill have to get better.
Buffalo Sabres need to generate better defense
Things aren’t going to get any easier for the Sabres, as the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Washington Capitals are next. In their loss to Toronto, the Sabres got caught multiple times trying to drive the puck through the neutral zone, allowing the experienced Maple Leafs to generate more than a few turnovers early.
Defensively, the Sabres broke down, leading to four easy goals, including two from former Sabre Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly later scored on an empty-netter to complete the hat trick, becoming the second ex-Sabre to accomplish the feat, with Jack Eichel being the first back in November.
With 27 games to go, the Sabres still have time to turn it around and even sneak into the playoffs. But if they don’t figure out how to play defense and kill penalties fast, it’s going to be a long final stretch of what has been a moderately entertaining season.
Source: Mike Harrington: Daunting Florida trip is next as Sabres try to emerge from February funk by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com.
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