Fun Buffalo Sabres team proved end of playoff drought is near
An exciting, young Buffalo Sabres team nearly ended their playoff drought in 2022-23, setting the stage for an even more exciting 2023-24.
Well, the Buffalo Sabres 2022-2023 season is officially over. Looking at the standings, Buffalo finished with a record of 42-33-7. They had 91 points and finished fifth place in the division. This next part is what I want to zero in on.
With 91 points, the Sabres finished only one point out of a playoff spot. While regulation wins break ties, putting the Sabres 10th in the conference behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo only needed ONE MORE WIN to be in the postseason. Even though it’s a tough pill to swallow, it leads me into my topic for this article.
What did I learn from the 2022-2023 Buffalo Sabres? It’s simple, this team is fun to watch and are so close to breaking the playoff drought. I know it’s frustrating that the drought is at 12 years now, but fans need to think positive. This team has accomplished things that have not been accomplished by this franchise in a long time.
They finished with over 40 wins, over 90 points, and had four players who scored at least 30 goals. Despite only one win away from being in the playoffs, the Sabres were so close to ending the drought.
Fun Buffalo Sabres showed they are close to ending the playoff drought
Back in the Summer of 2022, I did a month by month record prediction for Buffalo. In my month of April article, I had the team finishing with a record of 44-28-10. I wasn’t too far off but I believed Buffalo could win at least 40 games this season and have points in the 90’s. Fans should be very confident in this team going into next season and I do believe they can end the drought next year.
This leads me into my final point. What does general manager Kevyn Adams need to do in the offseason to make the playoffs? Get better defensively and get another solidified goaltender. Borrowing something crazy, I expect Devon Levi to be the goalie next season.
We do know Craig Anderson is retiring, we do not know the future’s of Ukko Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie. The offense is pretty solid, but getting better defensively should be the top priority for Buffalo in the offseason.
Must Read. Sabres: Grading each forward’s 2022-23 season. light
I am so proud of this team and what they accomplished this season. It hurt missing the postseason when they were right there but fans should be extremely proud of this team. They had a great season and gave us meaningful games in the last two months of the season, something else that has not been accomplished in a long time.