Though their place in the crowded Eastern Conference seems to be reason for some positivity, the Buffalo Sabres may already be at a crossroads. They have already faced arguably the worst injury situation in the NHL, but things don’t seem to be improving.
Beginning a tough four-game road trip, the first test was about as bad as it gets: the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite a late surge, the Sabres showed that they aren’t even the same class, losing 6-3 to the Hurricanes.
The Sabres Can’t Hope to Compete with This Lineup
One look at the Sabres lineup and you almost feel bad for head coach Lindy Ruff. The Sabres were already one of the youngest lineups in the league and now have to use youthful callups to replace guys like Josh Norris and Jason Zucker.
News broke heading into the weekend that captain and superstar defenseman Rasmus Dahlin would be out indefinitely, taking a leave of absence to return to Sweden so that he could help his fiancée as she recovers from a heart transplant.
The lineup is woefully thin. With all due respect to the young guys on the roster, they aren’t meant to step in and play meaningful minutes but that is what is being asked of them. The results are showing in the standings, where the Sabres have just one win in their last seven games.
Too Little, Too Late from Stars
It looked like the Sabres might pull something out of nothing when, in the third period, they suddenly rallied from a 4-1 deficit to make it a one-goal game. Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson each scored their sixth goal of the season to make it 4-3.
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Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and a Seth Jarvis empty-netter would seal the deal. If anything, it feels like a case of “too little, too late” from the Sabres stars. With the aforementioned lineup concerns, the onus falls on players like them to step up and make bigger contributions.
Those contributions need to come earlier in the game and put the Sabres in an advantageous position, not be a desperate rally from a huge deficit. At this point, it is hard to discern whether these two are merely underperforming or if there is an undercurrent that they would rather be playing somewhere else.
The Sabres Desperately Miss Zach Benson
It cannot be understated just how much the Sabres miss Zach Benson. He went on injured reserve yet again and the Sabres have been a much different team – for the worse – without him. If you don’t watch the games, just look at his underlying stats to get the picture.
The team’s expected goals for when he is on the ice is substantially higher than his teammates. In the past two seasons, he was in the 98th percentile defensively, and already showed that his offensive game had taken a noticeable jump forward with eight points in his first eight games.
Benson does everything that the Sabres have desperately needed in recent years. He plays with tenacity on the forecheck, wins battles all over the ice, plays a responsible 200-foot game, and has enough creativity left over to show major potential offensively. The team needs him back as soon as possible.
The Sabres are in Trouble
It’s been said before, but the Sabres have just one win in their last seven games. Overtime points or not, that is a major concern. They play the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, and Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, all on the road.
This has the potential to be one of those streaks that happens to the Sabres every season, the kind of streak that sinks their season before it ever really gets going. Things are nowhere near ideal right now but they need to dig deep and find results if there is any hope of saving this season.
