Eight games into the 2024-25 campaign, the Buffalo Sabres have a 3-4-1 record, and fans have already been through a rollercoaster of emotions. However, things seem to be coming together with two straight wins, including a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. The team has yet to show its best, but the potential for success is there. Here are three observations from a wacky start to the season.
Sabres’ Hustle Doesn’t Equal Intelligence
The Sabres didn’t mince words when they announced that former head coach Lindy Ruff would be returning. Ruff would bring back effort and discipline to a team that was sorely lacking it. Former coach Don Granato’s tenure was ultimately undone by slow, lackadaisical play that killed any momentum and extended the team’s playoff drought. Ruff wasted no time instituting a new culture of accountability, and that message has landed.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Sabres’ 4-2 Win Over Stars
Putting aside the disastrous two-game Global Series in Europe that opened the season, the Sabres are playing with a noticeable sense of urgency. The team as a whole is skating harder, throwing more checks and getting into the dirty areas more than they did all of last season. The new players brought in over the offseason have served their roles well, and so far, the Sabres have delivered on their pledge to be tougher to play against.
However, while their newfound hustle and gumption have been refreshing, old mistakes are still prevalent. Unintelligent play has been a particular Achilles heel, more glaringly on Oct.16 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sabres exploded early, but slipshod positioning and a lack of awareness afterward allowed the Penguins to rally and eventually win in overtime. Buffalo blew two separate leads, including one with less than a minute left in regulation. The issue continued the following night against the Columbus Jackets and led to another defeat, 6-4, this time in regulation.
Effort is crucial, but it doesn’t go very far without brains. Their inattentive play cost the Sabres two very winnable games that could have given them serious momentum. They’ve cleaned it up a bit over the last two games, but that will have to continue. As the saying goes, work smarter, not harder accountability, and that message has landed.
Sabres’ Power(play) Outage
One of the biggest positives so far is that Buffalo’s offense is back. Through eight games, the Sabres have scored 25 goals, and their top line has been the catalyst. After being hampered by injury all last season, Tage Thompson looks like himself again and has five goals and eight points. Alex Tuch also seems to have rediscovered himself and leads the team with six assists and nine points, while JJ Peterka has recorded six points despite missing two games with a concussion.
It hasn’t been limited to just them, though. Newcomer Ryan McLeod wasted no time making an impact and sits at five points, as does Jason Zucker. Owen Power finds himself with six points, while Jordan Greenway and Peyton Krebs have been very impressive as well. Nearly the entire roster has contributed to some extent, and that’s exactly what was needed. It’s still very early, but it could be that the Scorin’ Sabres are back.
Buffalo has been finding the back of the net, but not when it should be easiest. The Sabres’ power play has been abysmal to begin the season, and they are the only team that has yet to score a goal with the man advantage. Despite 22 opportunities, they haven’t been able to generate anything, and it’s perhaps the biggest reason for their struggles.
Assistant coach and former Sabre Matt Ellis, the power play coordinator, has drawn the ire of fans in the past, and the spotlight is back on him. Whether it’s his fault or not, this team can’t afford to continue to let opponents off the hook and must start making them pay for mistakes. The Sabres have had a lethal power play under Ruff in the past, and he’ll have to find a way to bring that magic back.
Inconsistency & Bad Luck Hampers Goaltending
No two players on the Sabres have felt the brunt of the team’s up-and-down start more than Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi. Ruff has given the two goaltenders fairly equal time early on, but Luukkonen is the clear-cut number one, starting five games to Levi’s three. They’ve played well for the most part but haven’t had much help, and as a result, their off-games really stand out.
Luukkonen has played far better than his 3.01 goals-against average would indicate, and he’s allowed more than three only once. He was tagged for six in the aforementioned disaster against Pittsburgh, but how much of that was his fault is up for debate. He has played more like himself over the last two games, making 37 saves to steal a victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday and nearly shutting out Dallas on Tuesday before the Stars made a late-game push.
Levi’s ride has been even rockier. After spending the second half of last season in the American Hockey League (AHL), the Sabres are hoping that the 22-year-old is up for the challenge this time after he was foolishly rushed into the starting role last fall. He’s shown noticeable improvement in some areas and played well through his first two appearances, but against the Blue Jackets, he suffered the same fate as Luukkonen and was torched for six. He didn’t get much help but also allowed a few softies, particularly on the glove side.
To this point, it seems that Ruff plans to split starts 60-40 with his goaltenders, or maybe even 70-30. Luukkonen proved last season that he can handle the weight of the schedule and that should keep the pressure off of Levi and allow him to go at his own pace. It’s only one game, but if the problems we saw against the Blue Jackets persist, the Sabres may have to send him back to the AHL and find another backup option. Luukkonen is the hot hand at the moment, and it’s tough to tell when the Quebecois will get another chance.
It’s been an uneven start to the season for the Sabres, but there are better things to come. With some fine-tuning, the team will turn a few heads. Buffalo returns to action tomorrow at home against the Detroit Red Wings, looking to keep their recent momentum going. What other takeaways from early on have you noticed?
