If you root for the Buffalo Sabres and you’re confused about everything right now, you’re not alone. This hockey team has been, well, strange. Beyond strange. As strange as you can go. Want to know what the Sabres record has been in their past 19 contests?
They’re 6-10-3 following their most recent win against the St. Louis Blues. If you remember it right, the Sabres swept the Cali teams and looked like a playoff contender in November. Then, they decided to lose 13 straight contests, only to win their next three by multiple goals.
Honestly, it didn’t even look like their opponents even came to play, as they demolished the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks, and it never looked like the Blues were seriously mounting a serious comeback on Sunday, even if they tied the Sabres at one point.
So, who is this team, and what are they ultimately going to look like? Realistically, they’re still a bottom-10 group. But it’s still way too early to assume the Blue and Gold are going nowhere fast, as they’re only 37 games into this season. And it’s not like they’re a crazy amount of points outside of a wild card spot, even if a few other teams may have more games in hand.
The Sabres are looking like a high-scoring bunch again. But…
Yeah, I’m assuming this, as they ranked 14th in the NHL with 109 goals heading into Sunday’s win, which bumped their goals scored total up to 113 and ranks 13th. Last week, I said Tage Thompson needed to get hot if the Sabres were going to pull off the impossible, and he did his job again, with another goal and two points, giving him 18 goals and 29 points so far in 32 contests.
Jack Quinn’s also, finally, been getting hot after fate knows what was going on with him earlier in the year. After recording another pair of assists on Sunday, Quinn now has 13 points and five goals in 30 games and six points and four goals in his last five contests.
Right now, it’s still mediocrity in Buffalo, and they’re still long shots to make a playoff appearance or even land a viable player to help them get there. But if the Sabres can, on average, gain four (or more) points in three-game increments, and for once, get consistent with their scoring, then maybe we can call them a good hockey team.
They may have won three straight games, but right now, it’s still tough to sit here and accuse the Sabres of being anything more than a below-average group. It’s great to see them succeed, but this impatient fan base needs to see a whole lot more before faith is restored.