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Sabres right on pace to match, or even exceed, last year’s terrible team

The start of the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres season has thus far gone worse than any of us imagined it would just a few months ago. After signing some legitimate free agents and with the promise of new, young talent on the way, most fans agreed that the Sabres would be better this season than last year’s historically bad team, and the only question was by how much?

One month into the season, the question has changed – could this team be even worse than they were last year?

After playing thirteen games in this young season, the Sabres sit at 3-9-1, while last season, they were just 2-10-1 at the same point, so at least their record is ever-so-slightly better. However, this team might be even more inept offensively than the squad that threatened the all-time low scoring record last season.

This year’s Sabres squad has scored just 16 goals, and has a goal differential of -27, while last year at this point, Buffalo had scored 20 goals and had a goal differential of “just” -17. The 2014-15 Sabres are on pace to score 101 goals in 82 games, far below their pathetic mark of 157 last year, and their goal differential right now is on pace for an incredible -170 over a full season.

Now, count me among those who still think they can’t possibly be this bad on offense (where for art thou, Matt Moulson?) and that business will eventually pick up on the offensive side of the puck. But it will have to pick up by about 25% just to match last year’s bad numbers, let alone climb anywhere towards respectability.

For the sake of the tank, these numbers lead the league by far, as the next closest team, Carolina, has 21 goals in three fewer games and a -14 differential. However, we’ve got 68 more of these games to get through, and a few more goals here and there would help ease the pain for those of us still (loyally? stupidly?) watching.

As for continuing to match last year’s squad? Well those Sabres went 1-4 in their next five games, another mark that this year’s team should easily be able to match.