“We don’t have palm trees.”
Those words from Sabers general manager Kevin Adams will live on in Buffalo, where fans have long suffered. Start bringing in inflatable plants to the rink as a form of protest. Adams’ quip is part of a larger discussion about Buffalo not being a “destination city” for NHL players. This is a byproduct of the Sabers missing the playoffs the past 13 seasons.
If this continues, the Sabers will definitely miss the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons. They are winless in 10 consecutive games (0-7-3), their longest winless streak since the team set a record 18 games in 2020-21. (Buffalo was in a playoff spot when this slide began on Nov. 27.)
The Sabers enter this season as the league’s youngest team, with an average age of 25.3. Adams turned to coach Lindy Love, hoping he could bring the kind of structure and accountability that existed under predecessor Don Granato.
It’s obviously still a work in progress. Buffalo, which is averaging 2.94 goals per game (21st), appears to be undergoing a stylistic shift under Love. Two seasons ago, when the Sabers were third in the NHL in goals against, they were dynamic in the rush. Buffalo ranks second in rushing scoring chances and five-on-five rushing goals. The Sabers ranked seventh in 5-on-5 rushing opportunities last season and 13th so far this year.
In 5-on-5 games, Love allowed the Sabers to score the puck 51.9 percent of the time. In each of the previous two seasons, Buffalo’s shooting percentage was the lowest in the league – 43.7% in 2023-24 and 40.7% in 2022-23. As a result, the Sabers jumped to third place in the 5-on-5 preliminary opportunity.
The problem, however, is that no matter how much the Sabers try to generate offense, their offense is wildly inaccurate. In 5-on-5 games, their total scoring chances were only 54.5%, ranking 30th in the league.
To make matters worse, the Sabers underperformed at power, finishing 30th at 14.6%. Buffalo was mired in a 2-for-30 slump and struggled in most of the areas that led to the power play’s success. This is reflected in the Sabers averaging 0.19 expected goals per two minutes, which ranks 31st in the league.
“When you can’t score on the power play or even generate offense, it’s hard to win games,” Sabers forward Takhi Thompson told reporters over the weekend. “I think if we figure that out, we’re going to start winning games.”
Despite these issues, Thompson’s offense is resurgent. He has 16 goals in 26 games and is on pace for a career-high 48 goals.
But Love is more concerned about how Thompson and Dylan Cozens perform in the defensive zone as the Sabers’ top-six centers. Thompson’s expected goals against per 20 minutes at 5-on-5 was 0.91, ranking 274th among 421 forwards who played at least 100 minutes in that situation. Cozens, meanwhile, ranks even lower at No. 360.
“We have a lot of work to do as (center personnel) within this system,” Love told reporters last week. “Tage Thompson has a lot of work to do. I personally asked those guys, ‘If this is too hard, I’m going to put you guys on the wing. You’re going to play wing. That’s for Dylan. That’s for Ty “Twenty-odd games are enough, and if you can’t read, then you have to go to the wing.”
Elliott Friedman of Sportsnet reported last week that the Sabers had received a call on Cozens and that he was a “legitimate wanted fugitive.” Cozens scored 31 goals and 68 points in the 2022-23 season and signed a seven-year contract (with a salary cap hit of $7.1 million). Cozens has played in 110 games since the start of last season. Scored 24 goals and scored 60 points.
Cozens, 23, isn’t the only young Sabers player to struggle this season. Jack Quinn has recently returned to full fitness and appears ready for a breakout season as he scored twice against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. The year-old’s first two non-empty goals of the season. Owen Power, 22, committed a team-high seven turnovers, resulting in both opponent and team goals. Was benched last week After a failed cleanup attempt, the New York Rangers set up a power-play goal.
It’s a shame that such a hockey-mad city hasn’t experienced a playoff game in nearly fifteen years. But unless the Sabers can keep running — which they haven’t shown signs of doing yet — it’s going to be another quiet spring in Buffalo.
