How much better did the Buffalo Sabres get in a single season?

The 2021-22 Buffalo Sabres were a weak team for a good chunk of the season while the 2022-23 version managed to stay afloat for 80 games.

The Buffalo Sabres made a dramatic improvement between 2021-22 and 2022-23. But it’s hard to really appreciate just how much better they got until you check out the numbers.

Today, we’re going to do just that, looking at several key categories that shows us, for the most part, this young team’s vast improvement. So how much better was the Blue and Gold? Keep reading, you don’t want to miss this one.

The 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres vs. the 2021-22 Sabres

Points

In 2021-22, the Sabres accumulated 75 points, placing them fifth in the Atlantic Division. They finished the year 32-39-11, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference.

This past season, Buffalo snagged 91 points, finishing just a point and a tiebreaker from making the playoffs. Their record was 42-33-7, and while they still finished fifth in the Atlantic, they moved up to finishing 10th in the conference. Note that although they ended with the same number of points as the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Pens held the regulation wins tiebreaker.

Goals For

This was by far the biggest improvement over the past season. The Sabres scored just 232 goals, good for just 2.82 goals per game, in 2021-22. And if you remember correctly, they didn’t really get going until March 2022. Their 232 goals ranked 22nd in the NHL.

That number ballooned to 296 in 2022-23, good for third in the league. While they hit speed bumps offensively at times, it seemed as though the 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres always managed to snap out of them, and at times, regularly scored four-plus goals per contest.

Player Production

Tage Thompson led Buffalo in scoring over the past two seasons, but he had just 68 points in 2021-22, 38 goals, and 30 assists with a -17. In 2022-23, Tage’s points production skyrocketed to 94, along with 47 goals and 47 assists, and a plus-4.

Jeff Skinner was the only other Sabre to score 30-plus goals in 2021-22, and he hit his then career high of 63 points. But in 2022-23, he snagged 82, and tied Tage for the team lead in assists among forwards with 47.

On the flip side, Rasmus Dahlin led the Sabres defensemen in scoring with 53 points, 13 goals, and 40 assists in 2021-22. This past season, he had five more assists (58) than his entire points total from the previous year. Dahlin also ended the year with 15 goals, giving him 73 points.

Buffalo also had four players score 30 or more goals this season, with Alex Tuch and Dylan Cozens scoring 36 and 31, respectively. Victor Olofsson, 28 goals, nearly became the fifth one to reach that mark.

Goals Against

This is one of two major stat lines the 2021-22 Buffalo Sabres were better than the 2022-23 team, but not by much. In 2021-22, the Blue and Gold allowed 290 goals, ranking them 25th in the NHL.

This past season, the Sabres allowed 300, ranking them 26th in the league. Much of this had to do with overall bad defense coupled with, at best, pedestrian goaltending. At least until Devon Levi showed up and allowed two or fewer goals in four of his seven starts.

Special Teams

While it wasn’t terrible in 2021-22, the Buffalo Sabres power play ranked 16th as the team converted 21.17% of its total attempts. Contrast that to this past season, when they finished the year at 23.42%, good for ninth in the league.

The penalty kill was a different story, as the 2021-22 squad had a 76.42%, which ranked 23rd. Last year, the Sabres killed off just 73.01%, which ranked 28th, even if it started coming on strong toward the end of the year.

Prediction for 2023-24

Overall, when you look at the numbers and compare the two teams, it’s easy to see why the 2022-23 Sabres were, for the most part, an upgrade over their 2021-22 counterparts. The 2022-23 Sabres high-octane attack often overwhelmed opponents, and it’s something you will see more of in 2023-24.

I would expect the 2023-24 team to score no fewer than 300 goals, even if they could still allow more than the league average…unless, of course, Devon Levi has something to say about it. I’m also anticipating Tage to break the 100 point threshold, and for the Sabres to improve their points total to between 99 and 107, which should be enough to get them into the playoffs.

(Information and statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)