Sabres Face Tough November

As Ryan looked at earlier this week, the Sabres had a decent month of October, finishing the month 6-4-2. But now, they face a hectic month ahead, with 15 games in the next 30 days, including four sets of back-to-back games. Additionally, eight of the Sabres’ games are against fellow Atlantic Division opponents.

First up: a pair of games against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators have struggled early this season but are only four points behind the Sabres in the standings entering the month, with a 4-5-2 record. However, they have only one win on the road this season so far and placed goaltender MIke Condon on waivers after Tuesday’s loss in Arizona.

The Sabres then face their third game in four days when they visit the New York Rangers, who have faced their own struggles this season. A minus-9 goal differential and just four wins in 12 games this season have them sitting at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division entering the month. The Sabres won their first meeting against the Rangers in October, a 3-1 decision.

Next up will be a visit to Montreal to face the Canadiens, who narrowly lost the first meeting of the season to Buffalo 4-3. The Sabres and Habs are tied in the standings going into November, with Montreal having played one less game. In addition, the Habs are finding early success at home, going 4-2-0. Buffalo then hosts Montreal for a 4 p.m. game on Black Friday.

After that, it’s a pair of home games for the Sabres, as the Canucks and Lightning come to town. The Canucks enter November with 14 points and have a 4-4-0 record on the road. The Lightning, meanwhile, are atop the Eastern Conference with an 8-2-1 record and a plus-11 goal differential. The Sabres also play the LIghtning in Tampa at the end of the month.

The weekend of November 16-17 sees the Sabres face their second back-to-back of the month: a pair of road games in Winnipeg (7-4-1) and Minnesota (7-3-2). With less than 24-hour turnover between puck drops (8 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday) and travel to consider, it’ll be a challenge for the Sabres, who at this point will be playing eight games in 17 days.

The Sabres cap off the three-game road trip with a Monday stint in Pittsburgh to face the Pens, who enter November atop the Metropolitan Division. The Pens have a plus-11 goal differential but are only 2-2-1 at home.

Next up: a pair of games bookending the American Thanksgiving holiday, as the Sabres host Philadelphia and Montreal. The Flyers have struggled early this season, going 5-7-0 in the month of October and carrying a minus-13 goal differential.

Following Black Friday, the Sabres are right back at it for their third game in four nights as they visit the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit, another division foe, is 3-7-2 in the early portion of this season and has a minus-16 goal differential, nearly the worst in the league. They also managed only one home win in their first five games at Little Caesars Arena this season.

The Sabres cap off November with three games in four days yet again from November 27-30. After hosting the tough San Jose Sharks, who enter the month with a 6-3-3 record, on November 27 for Hockey Fights Cancer night, Buffalo heads south to Florida to face the Lightning and Panthers.

The month of November will be a true test for the Sabres, between the tough divisional opponents, the sets of back-to-back games and the sets of three games in four nights they’ll be facing. Last November, for comparison’s sake, the Sabres played 13 games, going a dreadful 3-8-2 in that stretch. Let’s hope they can do better than that this upcoming month.

How many points will the Sabres get from the 15 games in November