While the Buffalo Sabres are just five games into the 84-game National Hockey League schedule, the defending Atlantic Division Champions find themselves searching for scoring. Buffalo has won just two of their first five contests and has trailed for a vast majority of each game so far this season.
One of the biggest question marks heading into the season was whether the Sabres find enough scoring to win games. With the departures of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, the club is looking for someone to step up to fill the void left on the score sheet. Top forwards Josh Norris, Zach Benson and Josh Doan are all without a goal, and the team as a whole has managed just eleven tallies through five games.
“We haven’t been connected, “ said Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff. “We’re trying to find who we are. We need to get rewarded for a few of those plays around the net. You’ve gotta have something good happen. You need a game where all of a sudden a couple of those guys get on the board. Whether it’s a deflection, whether it’s just a lucky goal that goes off ha, but they need something good to happen. When I say they’re squeezing sticks, it means they’re not making plays I think they can normally make.“
There are 79 games remaining, but the Sabres cannot afford to be fighting from behind for every point to stay in a highly competitive Eastern Conference playoff chase.
“It’s hard to score in this league, “ said center Tage Thompson. “Whether you’re fighting the puck or you don’t think you’re generating clean looks, that’s when you just gotta get to the net and throw pucks and get bodies there and just get ugly. “
“I think you get rewarded when you go to the net and good things happen, “ explained Thompson. “It’s something our group can do a lot better job of. Right now I think we’re waiting for a perfect play, a clear lane, a perfect shot instead of firing and just getting bodies there. “
The organization is looking to young players to make a difference, but in order to build on the accomplishments of last season, they must get more from top players.
The question remains: do the Sabres have enough scoring on their current roster to get the job done?
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