The Buffalo Sabres have struggled to find the net consistently in their first 49 games, but their recent surge in January saw them score 35 goals in 11 games, good for 3.18 per contest. Those numbers allowed the Blue and Gold to sneak into the top 20 in goals for when ranked against the rest of the league.
Sure, it’s still a far cry from the team that finished third in scoring last season, but the Sabres may have finally found their groove offensively when they needed to the most. If they can keep scoring the way they did in January 2024 following the All-Star Break, Buffalo will ultimately break into the top half of the field.
However, their goaltending and defensive play must also continue to hold up if they want to inch closer to the wild card in February, which they are still a good nine points out of. But speaking of postseason contenders, let’s check out where Buffalo ranks against those currently sitting in either the top three or a wild card from a scoring standpoint.
Buffalo Sabres find themselves in the top 20 in goals scored
- Colorado Avalanche - 190
- Vancouver Canucks - 186
- Dallas Stars - 183
- Tampa Bay Lightning - 175
- Detroit Red Wings - 174
- Boston Bruins - 173
- Toronto Maple Leafs - 166
- Vegas Golden Knights - 163
- Carolina Hurricanes - 163
- New York Rangers - 161
- New Jersey Devils - 161
- Edmonton Oilers - 160
- Florida Panthers - 158
- Ottawa Senators - 151
- Calgary Flames - 149
- Minnesota Wild - 149
- Winnipeg Jets - 148
- Nashville Predators - 148
- Philadelphia Flyers - 147
- Buffalo Sabres - 146
- Los Angeles Kings - 145
- Columbus Blue Jackets - 145
- New York Islanders - 143
- Arizona Coyotes - 143
- Pittsburgh Penguins - 138
- St. Louis Blues - 137
- Seattle Kraken - 136
- Montreal Canadiens - 136
- Anaheim Ducks - 126
- Washington Capitals - 115
- Chicago Blackhawks - 105
- San Jose Sharks - 103
As you can see, there aren’t many teams currently entrenched either in the top-three of their respective division or in the wild card that the Buffalo Sabres rank higher than from a goal-scoring perspective. It also shows that this season, if you want to win, you need to score, so if the Blue and Gold continue to average 3.18 per game, they may end up making things interesting in February, March, and April, assuming their goaltending holds.
(Information provided by Hockey-Reference)