The past week as a rough one for the Buffalo Sabres. They were absolutely demolished twice by the Dallas Stars while putting up a good fight and scrapping their way into a point against the St. Louis Blues. With the team now sitting at 8-10-2 and five points out of a playoff spot, they’ll get to test themselves once again against some strong Western Conference opponents during this busy Thanksgiving week schedule.
Monday, Nov. 23 – St. Louis Blues vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7:00pm
In a rematch from last Thursday, the Blues come to Buffalo looking to sweep the season series. The story of the last game was told on the power play, as the Blues went 2/3 and the Sabres went 0/4, including a long 5-on-3. If the Sabres can turn around their suddenly struggling special teams, it will go a long way towards helping them beat one of the best in the West.
Wednesday, Nov. 25 – Nashville Predators vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7:00pm
The schedule makers aren’t doing the Sabres any favors by following up series against the Stars and Blues with another two-game stint this week against the Nashville Predators. While the Preds aren’t quite as dominant so far as they were last season, they’re still a very good team that plays a heavy game. If there’s one piece of good news, it’s that they’ve struggled away from home, going just 4-4-1 on the road this season.
Friday, Nov. 27 – Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7:00pm
Finally, the Sabres get a bit of a reprieve from their Western Conference crucible and on Friday play one of the weaker teams in the league, the Carolina Hurricanes. This game will feature top draft picks from 2015 as Noah Hanifin, drafted fifth overall by Carolina, will face Jack Eichel in the friendly confines of the First Niagara Center. The Hurricanes are the stingiest team in the league giving up less than 25 shots per game, so goals could be hard to come by in this battle of north versus south.
Saturday, Nov. 28 – Buffalo Sabres at Nashville Predators, 8:00pm
Here we go again with these Western Conference giants. The Sabres will travel down to the Music City for the rematch against the Predators, where the home team is 7-1-2. With four games in six nights it will be interesting to see how much gas the Sabres have left in the tank by the time this game rolls around.
That’s what’s on the table for this week, Sabres fans – give us your thoughts on the games ahead in the comments.