Following their 13-game winless skid in November and December, the Buffalo Sabres were 12 points behind the Ottawa Senators for the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot. In the month following the losing streak, the Sabres have played better, going 6-4-1 with wins over the Senators, the Conference-leading Washington Capitals, and the Carolina Hurricanes, but as of Monday, they are still 12 points out of the final postseason berth.
According to Moneypuck, Buffalo’s postseason odds are less than 1%, the lowest of any Eastern Conference club and higher than only the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Sabres remain in last place in the East with 39 points (17-23-5) as they begin a four-game Western road swing against Seattle on Monday, and the challenge ahead for GM Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff is what to do between now, the NHL trade deadline and the end of the regular season.
Adams will have to determine the fate of several pending unrestricted free agents, including wingers Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker, defenseman Henri Jokiharju, and goaltender James Reimer. The Sabres may be interested in re-signing one or two of them, but if they cannot, they will likely try to move them before March 7.
There continue to be rumors that the club would like to make a consequential move to improve or change the core group, but a deal of that nature may not be able to be consummated until after the season. There is also some uncertainty about whether Adams will be at the helm to make those moves if the Sabres do not rally in the second half.
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And right now, it's like the SS Lindy is heading right for the iceberg again. I don't know what's going on with this team. Well, I mean, the, the, the exasperation from Lindy after the game yesterday, I mean, because okay, they have the 13 game winless skid and you're not going to diminish that because that destroyed their season. But after that, they've gone five, two, and one in the last eight games and played markedly better. But the problem is, is they're not going anywhere. They don't, they were seven or eight points out of a playoff spot at that point. After five, two, and one, they were still seven or eight points. They're not making the playoffs. I'm sorry. I mean, I'd, I'd love to have a playoff and they may have a run where they get closer, but they're just too inconsistent. They just have too many gaps in their game.