As Sabres Seek To End Slide In Atlantic Division Standings, Slew Of Buffalo Forwards Must Shake Off Slow Start And Begin Generating Offense

In their first five games of the NHL’s 2026-27 season, the Buffalo Sabres have lost three games – all in regulation time – by a combined score of 14-4. And in their past two games – both defeats at the hands of the Dallas Stars and Utah Mammoth – the Sabres have been outscored 8-1. It doesn’t take an advanced analytics expert to recognize that Buffalo’s offense is not getting the job done in the ‘O’ zone.

And if you go through the list of the Sabres’ point producers, you see very quickly that a slew of veterans need to ratchet up their offensive numbers, and they need to do it in a hurry.

For instance: star center Josh Norris has exactly one point in five games. So does center Ryan McLeod, and so does star winger Zach Benson. These three players combined to produce 131 points in 190 games last season, so they’re clearly capable of generating more offense.

But Norris, Benson and McLeod at least have gotten onto the scoresheet in one game this season. You can’t say the same for Josh Doan, Justin Danforth and Olen Zellweger. Danforth and Zellweger haven’t played the full five games, but Doan in particular has been a significant disappointment. We’re talking about a 21-year-old player who had a breakout year for the Sabres last season, posting 25 goals and 52 points in 82 games. So having no points in five games is a major problem for Doan.

It’s no wonder, then, that Buffalo has the sixth-worst offense in the league thus far this year, averaging only 2.20 goals-for per game. Lindy Ruff can’t hop over the boards and produce goals and assists to help the Sabres’ goaltending – and you’d better believe Buffalo’s goalies need all the help they can get.

The Sabres have to figure out a way to produce points, but they won’t come easy. In fact, Buffalo’s next four games come against strong teams – the Montreal Canadiens (twice), Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. Those teams aren’t registered charities, so the Sabres will be up against it trying to drum up offense.

Granted, we’re still talking about a small sample size here. There’s plenty of time for Buffalo to start posting more offense. But if the aforementioned Sabres players fail to get on the scoresheet sometime soon, the repercussions are going to be dramatic.

Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen can’t allow his team to backslide to the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings. So if the Sabres continue to struggle on offense, a notable roster shakeup could be very soon to follow.