Falling Behind Is Catching Up To The Sabres

It is still early in the 2026-2027 Buffalo Sabres season. But the team is off to a slow start as they reach the ten-game mark of the schedule.

This is a season where there is so much at stake for an organization that was the feel-good story of the National Hockey League last season.

Are the Sabres still the group that made the improbable run to within one goal of reaching the Eastern Conference Final, or are they a team that will be in tough to return to the postseason?

Through the first few weeks of the new regular season slate, the Sabres have found themselves playing from behind in every game.

Playing from a two-goal deficit has become the norm in the early going. A majority of the club’s points have been collected in extra time.

“It’s tough, “ said defenseman Owen Power. “Luckily we’re pretty good at it, but it’s hard to win games when you’re down two, so we gotta, I guess, start better and start scoring first so we’re not having to trail behind every game.”

While Buffalo has victories against Minnesota and Atlantic Division wins versus Florida and Toronto, the team has recorded just two regulation wins in ten games.

The Sabres have dealt with injuries in the month of October; versatile forward Jason Zucker has missed nine games, captain Rasmus Dahlin was out of the lineup for three contests, and goaltender Alex Lyon has been on the shelf since the preseason.

The injuries, coupled with the departures of two top performers from last season in Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, mean the Sabres have been unable to recapture the form they showed in the second half of last season.

With no Tuch replacement added to the roster, Buffalo is counting on young talent upfront to step forward.

Winger Zach Benson has yet to find the net, while Juri Kulich has scored just one goal to date.

The group is still looking to find its game, but the pressure to live up to last season’s success is real and the time for the Sabres to start putting together solid sixty minute efforts is now.