You could barely call the 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres the ‘same old Sabres.’ Unless they happened to be playing at home, where they finished 17-20-4.
Ironically enough, the Buffalo Sabres won their home opener and their home finale. They also finished 10-1-1 wearing their now-classic black goathead jerseys. Problem was, Buffalo finished 7-9-3 in their regular blue sweaters and in their infamous reverse retros – which would have looked kind of cool had they just been given blue pants to wear.
Anyway, this team was so bad at home that only the five worst teams in hockey finished with a worse record in their own arena. Yeah, it’s safe to say the Sabres were an advanced level of bad on home ice.
So what should the Sabres do to start winning more games at KeyBank Center, since they can all but forget about making the playoffs until they find a way to win at least half their games in downtown Buffalo? Switch to wearing the goatheads permanently? Let’s be realistic, not superstitious, though at this point it probably wouldn’t hurt.
Will the Buffalo Sabres win more at home next season?
This past season, the Sabres admittedly put themselves under pressure to win at KeyBank Center, as though they were trying too hard to impress the home crowd. But ironically enough, how many times were we watching home games this season, only to find just as many (if not more) fans wearing the opposing team’s colors?
The loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was perhaps the most notorious example here, though many, like Mike Harrington of Buffalo News, pointed to some interesting figures. Regardless if there were more Sabres jerseys or those of the opposing team, the Blue and Gold won far more often – 10-5-2 – with more than 17,000 fans in the building, as opposed to when fewer than17,000 showed, stagnating to 7-15-2.
Fortunately for the Sabres, they will enter 2023-24 with higher expectations than they’ve had in nearly a decade-and-a-half, and that means more fan interest. If Buffalo can start 2023-24 hot, and there is no reason why they can’t, then not only will you see more fans attend games; you will also see the right fans fill the arena, equaling more W’s.
Bold Prediction: With renewed fan interest, the Buffalo Sabres will win at least half their home games in 2023-24, finishing with a record no worse than 21-15-5 (46 points). It might not be a major improvement from 2022-23, but if the Blue and Gold uphold their winning ways on the road – 53 points or more – they will end next season with at least 99 points, which should catapult them into the playoffs.
Source: Mike Harrington: Sabres thrived on the road and now have to figure out the homefront by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com
(Further information provided by ESPN.com)