3 major issues the Buffalo Sabres must fix in last 18 games

The Buffalo Sabres suffered their worst loss of the season, falling to the Dallas Stars 10-4 in a game that was never really close. 

I think I speak for the entire Buffalo Sabres fanbase when I say, “Wow, am I glad that’s over.” Ironically enough, the Blue and Gold seemed to hang by the thinnest of threads throughout most of the contest, going down by three goals, before finding a way to bring the game to within two.

When the ninth minute of the third period hit, so did the tidal wave of five goals from the Dallas Stars that put Buffalo away. So what in the world happened to the Sabres tonight? The short answer is that they just weren’t prepared. But for context, the Stars exposed these three major issues that have been plaguing this team since Alex Tuch went down with an injury.

3 improvements the Buffalo Sabres must make

1 – Poor defense

I lost count over how many breakaways this team has allowed over the past two weeks. It’s been a problem all season, but far too often the Blue and Gold has been, if not facing breakaways, it’s odd-man rushes.

Buffalo needs to get better in transition when their opponents have the puck, and they need to be more aware of where those opponents are on the ice. This isn’t just one or two players making these mistakes; it’s a collective issue.

2 – Rushing things on offense

The Buffalo Sabres are one of the NHL’s best teams on offense when they slow down, let things develop, and keep things simple. Over the last two weeks, they’ve been doing the exact opposite, trying to rush plays, and it’s turned into nothing but erratic decision-making and turnovers in the offensive zone.

How many times have seen the puck go off a player’s stick, only for it to enter the neutral zone or in front of an opponent? It happened plenty of times tonight against Dallas.

3 – Penalty kill

The Sabres penalty kill seems to be getting worse, regardless of what they do. The upside? Buffalo has done a decent job of staying out of the penalty box, having been in the sin bin just six times over the past three contests.

The major issue? They allow way too many scoring chances when they’re shorthanded, and they can’t find a way to consistently clear the puck. Overall, they need to be aggressive when facing a man advantage, force an opponent rush their shots, or at least try to coax them into making a potentially ill-fated pass, and they’ve been doing none of that.

Overall, losing 10-4 is beyond frustrating both for the team and its fans. But there are still 18 games left to figure out these woes. The playoffs look highly unlikely at this point, but it doesn’t mean the Buffalo Sabres can’t learn from this. Though at this point in the season, you’d have thought they’d have fixed a couple of the issues listed above.