Five Game Breakdown: Goose Egg

Last time I put this together we were starting to see signs that the Buffalo Sabres may be improving. The next five games on the schedule didn’t look too daunting and maybe we could start to see a turnaround. Well, that isn’t what we saw in any way. In fact, things got worse, much worse.

Recent Five-Game Stretch

The previous five-game stretch featured matchups against the Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes. In these five games, they managed to go 0-3-2 and pick up two of a possible ten points.

The Sabres were outscored 17-8 by their opponent over this stretch. They scored more than one goal in a game once against the Penguins in a 5-4 loss. A game in which they lead 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3. Scoring 1.6 goals per game is not the pathway to a winning formula. Even if your goaltenders stand on their head, you’re not winning many games with that low of goal production.

No Hope in Sight

I hate to be so negative, but there really appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel right now. The injuries on defense continue to mount and the offense outside of Evander Kane is nonexistent.

Kyle Okposo continues to really struggle and is starting to have red flags pop up all around him with five years remaining on his contract. Jason Pominville has gone away after a hot start and Benoit Pouliot has cooled off after a good few weeks.

Next Five Games

I skipped the top performers this week because the only player who I’d give consideration to is Kane and we all know why that would be.

The next five-game stretch has already got underway with the loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. Extending the losing streak to six games and already putting them 0-1-0 in this current stretch.

The other four games are games against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. In this five-game the stretch they’ll have four of the games at home. Only the game against the Canadiens will be played on the road.

Besides the Lightning, none of the remaining four games in this stretch is against teams who are setting the world on fire. The Oilers and Canadiens are in some disarray right now. While the Wild are still having some trouble finding their way even though they’ve turned things around slightly since a slow start.

That being said I’m not expecting much here or for the rest of this season for that matter. Two months into the season all the hope has been sucked out of me. Perhaps the light bulb will go off one day for this team, but I’m not counting on it.

Also, don’t look now, but the Arizona Coyotes are only one point behind the Sabres after a three game sweep of Eastern Canada.