3 things the Sabres need to fix in order to save their season

Slow starts have been a reason the Sabres have the longest playoff drought in the NHL, and the second longest out of the four major sports in the United States. While the Sabres sit 2-4-1 with five points and sit seventh in the Atlantic. October historically has been the toughest month for this Buffalo team over the last three seasons. In October, Buffalo is 12-12-1.

Let’s compare that to some of the other playoff contenders in the Atlantic over the last three seasons. Boston has made the playoffs in eight straight seasons and their record in October is 43-13-9 one of many reasons that Boston can sustain success. Over the last five seasons that saw the Tampa Bay Lightning win, two Stanley Cups, Tampa started hot out of the gate going 16-11-4 in October.

We can also credit the Florida Panthers, who reached back-to-back Finals and are the defending cup champions over the past three seasons, for the same. The Panthers have a 13-8-3 record in October. While we have seen teams like the Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues who went from the bottom of the league go on two either make the finals or win Lord Stanley, it is one of the hardest feats to accomplish over a 82-game season, and it has seems this group of Sabres could not work out of the problem of slow starts.  

Figure out the Power Play

First and foremost, the Sabres have been atrocious on the power play this season and will be a problem and talked about until Lindy Ruff and Seth Appert figure it out and finally get it back on track. Through seven games' play for Buffalo, they still don’t have a power play goal, making them 0-21.

If you look back at the game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, you can see how the two teams organized their power plays differently. The Blackhawks had all five forwards moving at almost on all parts of the offensive zone, making the Sabres penalty killers move with them to create open pockets for shots from low to high. If the Sabres enter the zone with speed and move the puck fast and apply some sort of movement, the man advantage would score at a more successful rate.

The Sabres will have plenty of opportunities to get their first power play goal this season as two of the four opponents they face rank bottom three on the penalty kill. Detroit comes to Buffalo Saturday afternoon and ranks 31st on the PK killing at a rate of 62.5%. Buffalo faces the Islanders to close out the home stand and New York is killing at the same rate as the Red Wings. Buffalo is only two spots better in the PK department killing at a 73.3% rate this season.

Figure out Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn

Through the first seven games, both Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn have been underwhelming on the Sabres’ second line. The two forwards have combined for three points and a minus-2 in the first stretch of games ranking them in the bottom four on the team in the plus/minus category. Cozens' neutral zone turnovers have been a major concern for the Sabres, as he continuously makes the same mistakes that often lead to goals against.

Notably, one costly turnover to point to was last Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he entered the offensive zone and stopped at the blue line and turn his body to spin on Noel Acciari that led to a quick two on one the other way allowing Drew O’Connor to score for Pittsburgh to get them back in the game with a shorthanded goal. Dylan Cozens knows he can’t make that mistake, especially when up two and on the power play. There is no proper answer to how to fix the woes between Cozens and Quinn.

If you told a Sabres fan entering this season, both would be on the bottom end of points on this team, many would say you're crazy. Right now, that’s a reality. Maybe Ruff sits one for a game to allow them to watch from above and see the ice better and scratch the other the following night. Both players need to be held accountable, but it’s difficult to justify taking them off the ice since the Sabres are already behind in points. Despite their struggles, they still bring a deadly shot and some speed to the lineup.

Defense needs to support the scoring

Buffalo has scored 18 goals in the last four games, but also has allowed 16 goals against leaving the goal differential at two. For the Sabres this season, they are in the middle of the pack scoring-wise as they average three goals per game.

Out of the four teams the Sabres host during their four-game home stand, only Florida scores more than the Sabres do, averaging 3.3 goals per game. While Buffalo has found scoring from others outside of the leaders like Ryan McLeod and Jordan Greenway. Ruff’s squad is in the top 10 in the most goals allowed, allowing 3.7 goals against per game.

The inconsistent play reminds of how this team played with former coach Granato. One night played a full 60 with good defense, the next must score at least four or more goals to win and secure two points. If the Sabres are going to save their season, they must shore up the defensive pairings, and the answer isn’t Mattias Samuelsson and Connor Clifton.

Expectations for this week

Saving the season starts by splitting the season into four to five game chunks. Here, the current home stand. For Buffalo, there are eight points available to take the best-case scenario is 3-0-1 and take seven of the eight points and end October and being November on a positive note. 2-1-1 would also be acceptable as they will secure five of the eight. Buffalo can’t enter November with a sub .500 record as the schedule will only get tougher from here on out.