The Buffalo Sabres are off to a 13-8-2 start in Sion’s 2023-24 projection. Will the winning ways continue in the first half of December?
The Buffalo Sabres have a tough slate of games to open the month of December, and they will kick things off with a road outing against the Carolina Hurricanes. Buffalo struggled against Carolina last season, though they managed to squeak out one win in three contests. But, Carolina at home is far too superior to the young Sabres, and Buffalo starts off the month 0-1-0.
They then have a two-game homestand vs. the Nashville Predators and the Detroit Red Wings. The Sabres lost in a blowout last season to the Preds at KeyBank Center, but the more experienced Sabres take this one before they put up a plethora of goals on the Wings and their shaky defense, taking both contests and sitting at 2-1-0.
The Blue and Gold play the Boston Bruins next, and although Boston is likely to step back, the Sabres struggles continue against their division rival and they drop this one thanks to some fatigue in playing their fourth game in six days.
Can the Buffalo Sabres enjoy a strong first half of December 2023?
Buffalo’s every other day (and evening) games continue, but with a pair of weaker opponents in the Montreal Canadiens and the Arizona Coyotes, they will take both matchups. A road trip to Denver and Vegas follows, and once again, fatigue PLUS the body clock gets to the Blue and Gold, and they drop both games, putting them at 4-4-0 in December.
However, they travel to the Sonoran Desert for another game against the Coyotes. Despite this one being a back-to-back out west, the exhausted Buffalo Sabres take this one in a narrow win before they get two days off prior to their next game on December 19th, where we will pick up in the next article. Oh, and if you haven’t yet, make sure you check out Zach’s projection for the first half of December.
- Record through the first half of December: 5-4-0
- Overall record: 18-12-2 (38 points)