There is always a lot of hope when it comes to the start of a new season for the Buffalo Sabres.
The team’s coach and management always talk about their skilled players, depth at all positions, and the fact that they have all the necessary elements to make it into the Stanley Cup playoffs. With Lindy Ruff back behind the bench this season and the team’s players healthy and ready to take the next step, it certainly seemed like all systems would go for the Sabres this season.
Unfortunately for the Sabres, that has not been the case this season. Much like over the last decade or so, this year’s version of the Sabres has been an abysmal one.
As of this writing (Tuesday night, December 17), the Sabres are seventh in the Atlantic Division, 15th in the Eastern Conference, and 29th in the NHL. To make matters worse, the team has been winless in their last 10 games (0-7-3).
There are several reasons why the Sabres are one of the worst teams in the league this season. For starters, they give up too many goals.
The team is currently 25th in the league in goals allowed as they have given up 103 goals in 31 games. This means that they give up close to four goals (3.32) per game, which certainly does not help any team win hockey games.
The team’s goaltending, which was supposed to be a strength this season with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi, has ended up being one of the team’s weaknesses this season. After having a great season last year (27-22-04 with a 2.57 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage, and five shutouts), Luukkonen is struggling this season as he is currently (As of Tuesday night, December 17) 8-9-0-3 with a 2.80 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage, and one shutout.
Levi, who was supposed to be the team’s future in between the pipes, has yet to find solid footing in the NHL. He is currently 2-6 with a 3.57 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage.
In addition to not getting consistent goaltending, the team struggles in their own zone. They have trouble clearing the puck, getting in passing lanes, protecting their goaltenders, and doing all the little things that lead to a team being able to keep the puck out of their net.
Sabres Offensive Woes
Another problem for this team has been putting the puck in the net consistently. As of this writing (Tuesday night, December 17), the Sabres are 20th in the league in goals scored as they have scored 91 goals in 31 games.
While Tage Thompson has not had any trouble scoring goals this season (he currently has 16 goals), the rest of his teammates have not followed his lead. Players like Alex Tuch (nine goals), Jason Zucker (eight goals), JJ Peterka (eight goals), Ryan McLeod (six goals), and Dylan Cozens (six goals) have all been lackluster this year when it comes to putting the puck in the net.
Adding to the team’s offensive woes is the fact that they have not been very good on the power play this season. The Sabres are currently 30th in the league with the man advantage as they have converted on just 14.6 percent of the opportunities they have been given so far.
For a club that has players like Thompson, Cozens, Zucker, Rasmus Dahlin, Peterka, Owen Power, and Peyton Krebs, their power play should be a heckuva lot better. The Sabres have a lot of skilled forwards who can get pucks on net and create scoring chances, but they cannot seem to do it consistently, whether it is at even strength or on the power play.
Lastly, bringing back Ruff to be the club’s head coach might not have been the right move. While the Sabres’ lack of success is not all on his shoulders, it is clear that the team is not playing the way he wants them to and that he is frustrated because he has yet to find solutions to the team’s many problems.
The Sabres have not made the postseason since the 2010-11 season. That is the record for the longest postseason drought in NHL history as it has been 13 seasons since their last playoff appearance.
Based on the way they have played so far this season and the competitive division that they play in, it is safe to say that the drought will get to 14 seasons come April.
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