As the National Hockey League regular season moves into the month of December, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves in a very familiar position. They are in last place in the Eastern Conference standings. They currently trail the final wildcard playoff berth by eight points and seven teams are ahead of them in the chase.
After impressive wins in the last ten days against Edmonton, Chicago and Carolina, Buffalo has fallen back with consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and New Jersey.
The most concerning aspect of the situation is that the Sabres are facing a stretch of seven of their next eight games on the road. Buffalo’s record away from Key Bank Center so far this season is a miserable mark of one win, six regulation losses and two defeats in overtime.
The Sabres cannot afford to fall any further behind as this stretch of games begins. Another year of playing out the string in the second half of the season would be disastrous.
Sabres need to end futility streak
The organization is on the brink of adding to its NHL record of postseason absences. The mark currently sits at fourteen consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance. Also hanging in the balance is the fate of the front office and coaching staff.
Both general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff are in the final years of current contracts. Ruff is in year two of his second stint behind the Buffalo bench. The Sabres (and some fans) hoped his return would bring with it a playoff berth and respectability to a once-proud franchise.
As for Adams, his six years on the job have left the Sabres in an even more precarious position than when he stepped in.
The team has yet to put together a run of good play to move up in the standings. An inability to finish scoring chances at critical times and difficulty closing out close games have left valuable points on the table.
Good spurts are not enough
On some nights they look like a good team, controlling games even against top competition. At other times, they show why they are at the bottom of the standings. The strong play has not been sustained from game-to-game. In fact, sometimes it’s not even period-to-period.
The roster has faced frequent juggling due to injury and illness. However, using injuries as a justification for the club’s current position is not valid. It’s gone on for far too many years. This is nothing new.
All teams must find a way to work through lineup challenges when players are not available. Especially in a season marked by a compressed schedule due to Olympic participation.
The roster has some talent, but the group needs a significant move to show the players that management is trying to help the team this year.
It is time for the man who built this roster to try to save the season and his job. Time is short. We’re now past the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
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