There isn’t a lot to talk about when you’re at the bottom of the standings. For Buffalo Sabres fans, there is little to hope for as the season hits its stretch run. Mostly, fans just want to see a few more wins and some hope that next season will finally be different than the rest.
After an impressive 8-2 win over the New York Rangers, everyone expected a letdown as the Sabres hosted the Anaheim Ducks. It looked dicey for 40 minutes, but they managed a 3-2 comeback win at home. Here are the most important takeaways from what turned out to be an exciting game.
The Offense Is Elite 5v5
The Sabres had arguably their best period of the season in the third. Trailing 2-0, they came out flying, putting pressure on the Ducks and Lukas Dostal with regularity. By the time the midway point of the period came and went, they had turned things around and held a 3-2 lead thanks to Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Henri Jokiharju.
What gets missed in the losing record and the 13-game losing streak is the fact that this offense is really, really good when playing 5v5. As of today, the Sabres are tied with the Dallas Stars for third in the NHL in goals at 5v5. If anything, it kind of ties into stats like the Sabres being one of the best first period teams but among the worst in the second and third.
The Sabres are fantastic offensively. They have three of the top six defensemen in the league in terms of points at 5v5 per 60 minutes. If the power play could be anything approaching average or they could stop blowing leads left and right, this would be a team well into the playoff race.
Special Teams Almost Cost Them This Game
Speaking of special teams, it has been such an Achilles heel this season, and it very nearly cost them this game. The Sabres looked like the better team all game, but a pair of power play goals gave the Ducks the edge. Usually, we are talking about the power play and how to fix it, but the penalty kill hasn’t been great, either.
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There are more than a few guys that need a strong finish to the season, but it is strong finishes in individual games that need to happen more often. Rather than rolling over and dying, as would happen in most cases, the Sabres came out with a rocket strapped to their backs and dominated.
You can’t blame Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as both were goals that required him to move quickly to cover ground. Special teams are one of a million things that have been wrong with the Sabres for years, and needs to be addressed both in this season and beyond.
A Great Team When the Pressure Is Off
It’s nice that the Sabres are winning again – they have won six-straight at home for the first time since 2018 and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games – but there is a measure of frustration considering all the wasted games and chances that could have otherwise had them in the thick of the playoff race.
Now that the Sabres are virtually eliminated – they have something like a 2.3% chance to make the playoffs after beating the Ducks – they have been playing their best hockey of the season. Thompson has looked like a high-level scorer, Jack Quinn and Dylan Cozens have shown life, and there is scoring throughout the lineup.
Perhaps the next move for the Sabres is to hire a hypnotist. Have the hypnotist come in just before the opener of the season and convince them that it’s February, and they are 15 points out of the playoffs. They would probably win the Presidents’ Trophy.
It’s At Least Fun to Watch Again
Though there is inherently going to be some negativity surrounding this franchise, the goal is to focus on the positives heading into the stretch run. They’re playing fun hockey and winning a few games, as meaningless as they may feel.
There are a lot of pieces that will transfer into next season, when we can do this dance all over again. For now, the Sabres are looking for enough of a foundation to avoid another rebuild before giving the fan base false hope once again.
