DYLAN WEBB
Special to The Leader
Well Sabres fans, I wish I had better news for you. I could try to paint a better picture of this team. I could sprinkle in some fancy stat words to try and explain what’s going on. But the fact of the matter is this: the Sabres have been bad.
Through two weeks of the season, Buffalo is already scraping the bottom of the barrel, and there doesn’t seem to be many solutions on the horizon. After showing a lot of promise opening night against the Montreal Canadiens, that have not found their footing yet either, the Sabres followed it up by losing seven of their first eight games. This is all en route to the Sabres having the second worst division and conference record through two weeks. So what exactly has transpired to leave the Sabres in such a place so early on?
To start off, the goaltending has been, well, underwhelming. Robin Lehner has been a middle of the pack goaltender his entire career and that is exactly how he has played to start the season, ranking 26 out of 47 eligible goalies in goals against average. Had it not been for a shutout victory against the Detroit Red Wings that number would have been higher, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
The problem, in truth, lies in backup goalie Chad Johnson. In his seventh year in the league, Johnson is coming in as the 44 ranked goalie with six appearances under his belt. Combined these two have let up 44 goals through 12 games for the second worst mark in the NHL. The only team that has allowed more goals? The 0-10-1 Arizona Coyotes, who have let up 48 through 11 games. If the Sabres want to have any kind of impact this season, something needs to change at goalie.
Now goaltending is, admittedly, a fickle thing. This is also a season where Montreal Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price, former Vezina Trophy winner, finds himself ranked just two spots above Johnson as the 42 ranked goalie. Things can and will change as the season develops, so early struggles at goalie can sometimes be overlooked. But even if Lehner starts putting up better numbers, the offense needs to get clicking if the Sabres are to have any hope of making a run this year. Just for the sake of comparison, the Sabres have put up 29 goals so far this season. The Minnesota Wild have put up 30. The difference? The Wild have played nine games this season, while the Sabres have already played 12.
Now yes, I am comparing a Minnesota team that finished second in all the western conference last season to a Buffalo team that finished second to last in all the eastern conference, but the point stands. The Sabres have simply not been scoring goals, ranking 27 out of all 31 teams in goals per game. While the team’s stars have been playing like they should, with Evander Kane and Jack Eichel leading the team in goals and assists respectively, the defense has actually yet to score a goal. And the best plus/minus on the team? Jason Pominville, with a plus three. If a more varied offensive attack doesn’t start surfacing soon, this season might just be done before it really gets started.