Despite loss to Carolina, Buffalo Sabres are on an upward trajectory

The Buffalo Sabres are trending upward, despite losing two of their last three, given their overall five-game points total.

The Buffalo Sabres will be, and are, just fine, despite failing to break through 0.500 once again following their overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. This means the Blue and Gold have yet to eclipse the 0.500 threshold nearly 16 percent of the way through the season, so a sense of urgency should be in order shortly.

However, things aren’t as bad as they seem in the City of Good Neighbors, as believe it or not, Buffalo has seven points in their previous five outings. While they won’t give us a 70 percent points total to work with in every five-game increment, if they can average somewhere between six and six-and-a-half points (6.25) per five games between now and mid-April, they are looking at between 86 and 87 more points atop the 13 they already have.

That’s between 99 and 100 points, and it should push them over the top and into the playoffs. Therefore, Buffalo only needs to exercise some consistency, and they don’t need to be all-world just yet.

Buffalo Sabres will make postseason if they accumulate 6.25 points per five games

The Sabres also look like they are far more consistent than they were when the season began, going 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, good for 11 points, and 5.5 per five games. As mentioned, they snagged seven in their previous five, which was good for a 3-1-1 record, and it also keeps them in the fight for a top-three spot in the Atlantic during what is still the season’s early stages.

While overtime losses aren’t ideal, those single-point games will add up as the playoff race heats up, and they will prove to be difference-makers come April. Just look at last season – we all said that if the Sabres won just another game, they would have made the postseason. But they also would have made it had they taken just two of those regulation losses into overtime and secured a point.

Overall, if the occasional overtime loss gets the Buffalo Sabres to that 6.25-point threshold, then they will prove to be valuable when the Blue and Gold are playing hockey in the latter half of April.

(Statistics and information provided by Hockey-Reference)