For more than a decade, the Buffalo Sabres have left their fans feeling frustrated. In the wake of yet another loss, a 3-2 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets, the franchise felt like it was spiraling after so much promise coming into the season.
If fans thought that things might turn around with a visit from the Utah Hockey Club, they were wrong. Instead, the Sabres were basically done after the second period, losing 5-2 in the process. There are some takeaways following the game, most of them the big picture variety.
The Sabres Have Given Up
Things were bad after the epic collapse to the Colorado Avalanche. They got worse when it was found out that captain Rasmus Dahlin would miss time due to injury. But this loss makes it feel like the team has simply accepted its fate and given up on the season.
There were flashes of effort, but those were long gone after Michael Kesselring and Mikhail Sergachev scored 0:24 apart to erase a 1-0 Sabres lead. It was long gone after Kevin Stenlund made it five unanswered Utah goals midway through the third period.
Blame Lindy Ruff. Blame Kevyn Adams. Blame whoever you want to blame at this point, because you are probably right. A team that talked about how it was allowed to not give its all under former head coach Don Granato is now not giving its all under a new coach. The core is rotten for the Buffalo Sabres.
Congratulations, Tyson Kozak
Let’s at least look at one positive thing because it is very easy to be negative about literally everything related to the Sabres right now. Congratulations to Tyson Kozak, who finally got his first career NHL goal on Saturday against Utah. His entering the lineup is a mild change but he’s one of the few bringing energy.
Related: Changes Need to Be Made to Reverse the Sabres’ Struggles
What would have been his first career goal was waved off due to a highly questionable goaltender interference call against the Jets, a game the Sabres eventually lost in disappointing fashion. For him to get on the board in his next game is well-deserved.
Because this is a piece about the Sabres, the positivity can’t last a whole section but there’s good reason. It has taken Kozak exactly two games to score one goal. Meanwhile, projected breakout candidate Jack Quinn has managed just one goal in 24 games this season, and that was an empty-netter back on Oct. 26 against the Detroit Red Wings. Do with that information what you will.
No Help Is Coming for Buffalo
There are going to be a million pieces about what changes the Sabres are going to make. While those may seem possible, Adams made it clear in a recent press conference that there is no help coming, even if he didn’t say it that way directly.
He said that Buffalo is “Not a destination city right now,” which may be the understatement of the century. People will be quick to blame the snow or Buffalo’s status as a “small” city, but it’s not really that. Players have shown a willingness to go to similar cities like Detroit, Raleigh, and Minneapolis.
The biggest reason that Buffalo isn’t a destination is because the team absolutely sucks. It has sucked for the past 13 seasons and there is no indication that it won’t suck again the rest of this season, and the next, and the next. Win hockey games on a regular basis and anywhere will become a destination.
The Offseason Is Going to Be Bad
There are seven long months until the offseason begins, but when you’re a Buffalo Sabres fan, it is never too early to think ahead. This is six losses in a row and it doesn’t look like things are going to get better. What does that mean for the offseason? Pain.
Adams is more than likely gone. Ruff may be gone as well. There probably won’t be wholesale roster changes because that’s not how things work, but Quinn and others needing a new deal may be shopped or allowed to walk. Those changes are coming and it won’t be pretty. Buffalo may be staring down yet another rebuild.
