3 Takeaways from the Sabres’ 5-2 Loss to the Flyers

There may be no greater Jekyll and Hyde team in the NHL than the Buffalo Sabres. They have baffling losses, then come out and beat a couple of good teams like the Winnipeg Jets and the red-hot Minnesota Wild. Surely, with wins like that on their recent resume, they could find a way to build momentum?

If you thought, “Yeah, why not?” you haven’t been watching Sabres hockey very long. It took all of 0:59 for the Sabres to fall apart against the Philadelphia Flyers, the kind of team that they need to beat regularly if they hope to climb the standings. Instead, they dropped a frustrating 5-2 decision.

Turnovers are an Achilles Heel for This Team

Watching the Sabres on a nightly basis, there are a few things that jump out. One of the worst is that they are awful when it comes to giving the puck away. Sure, things feel a bit different overall but these are the issues that have been there every season for more than a decade.

Though it is understandable given most of the league leaders in turnovers are high-risk, high-reward players, Rasmus Dahlin being in the top 10 in terms of giveaways is a problem. On a good team like the Colorado Avalanche – where Martin Necas is second in the league in giveaways – those mistakes are mitigated. On a team like the Sabres, they are exacerbated.