When Rasmus Dahlin scored in the game’s first 30 seconds, it gave hope to everyone in KeyBank Center and across the Buffalo Sabres fanbase. Far too often, it was Buffalo allowing the early goal, but they attacked the net early and looked as though they were by far the superior club.
It all ended by the end of the first period, when the Columbus Blue Jackets took a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission. The Sabres weren’t aggressive with the puck following Dahlin’s goal while the Blue Jackets relentlessly found ways to score, at one point scoring from below the goal line and banking the puck off of goaltender Devon Levi.
Speaking of which, a goaltender change did little, and the Sabres found themselves down 7-1. While they mounted a small comeback to pull the game to a three-goal deficit, the Blue Jackets found a way to score two more times, officially forcing the Sabres into rock bottom status.
Buffalo Sabres have hit rock bottom in 2023-24 following loss
Talk about the most disappointing team in hockey that entered the season with so much hope that a contingent of the NHL community predicted the Sabres would finally break their playoff drought. Instead, this team has let everyone down and at this point, there is no hope. It’s honestly best they just try to salvage what they can of what is becoming a lost season and try to get things going in the right direction for next year.
But then again, next year is something we have been saying for a while now, so there is no guarantee that the Blue and Gold will give us anything more than mediocre hockey. They ended last season with optimism, and clearly, they haven’t built off of it, but they have instead regressed further than even the most pessimistic of forecasts could have predicted.
So when will it be okay to believe in the Buffalo Sabres again? Not when they almost make the postseason. Instead, it will be okay to believe again when they actually make the playoffs, but no one knows when that time will ultimately come.
(Information provided by NHL.com)