The Buffalo Sabres seemed to hit their stride heading into Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, after the game against the Penguins, it appears it wasn't necessarily that they figured something out, but rather that they were just playing at home.
On the season, the Sabres are 8-4-2 at KeyBank Center, but when they are on the road, it is a different story. They have only one win in nine games, with the latest loss being against the Penguins by the final score of 4-2.
The concern is that these games haven't even been relatively close, as the Sabres have been outscored 40-24. In those nine games, the Sabres have allowed the other team to score first in seven of those games.
Buffalo Sabres could see their season slip away in the next two weeks
While the Buffalo Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference, there hasn't been any team that has really pulled away. They are only five points away from a playoff spot, but they can't squander too many chances if they want to get back into contention.
The challenge is that the Sabres don't have many home games coming up, as they are on the road for seven of the next nine games. That includes a stretch of 3 games in 4 nights, with the third game kicking off a six-game road trip.
The upcoming schedule doesn't do them any favors in getting out of the basement of the Eastern Conference. For the upcoming stretch of games, the focus needs to be on not letting the gap widen between them and the last Wild Card spot. They will probably need to finish with around a .500 point percentage, which seems like a tall task based on how the season has gone so far.
This feels like a pivotal stretch to their season and it's one that likely will result with serious changes if they struggle through it.