Pick a headline:

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-2-2019


Fail
Epic fail
Not ready for prime time
What was that all about?
Is that any way to start a seven-game home stand?
You do realize that this was the second to last team in the league?
Precious points slip away...again
A rare occurrence--Pominville and Okposo both scoring in the same game--is wasted
What happened to starter Carter Hutton?
They finally scored a goal on the powerplay. Yay. But lose. Boooo.
Obviously, nowhere close to good enough.

Or maybe:

Sabres struggling with pressure

You can't really complain with how the Sabres came out in the first period, save for their typical penchant for trying to do too much in front of the hometown fans. Perhaps this is a curse of some kind dating back to the first post-Drury/Briere season of 2007-08, where those Sabres teams seemed intent upon collecting style points instead of goals on the scoreboard. Unfortunately this approach has gone on for years in Buffalo, spanning numerous coaches as well as a complete roster turnover save for 35 yr. old Jason Pominville who was on those teams, was traded away and came back in a trade.

Another trait that seems to have followed the Sabres is wilting under pressure which is a direct result of failing move the scoreboard. For those of us who distinctly remember those teams in the latter ought's, adversity was a cruel beast that rendered those Sabres teams helpless. If they weren't scoring, they got frustrated and began to twinkle their toes even more leading to cracks and gaps in their game that the opposition eventually took advantage of. When that levee finally broke, the goals-against came quickly and there was no place to hide.



The jury is still out on this edition of the Buffalo Sabres as we have 31 games to play in the 2018-19 season, but there are some similarities between the editions that might lead one to believe that they're on the road to a ninth or 10th place finish in the conference, which is a typical trait of those teams from 2007-08 to 2012-13. That's why the organization decided to nuke the whole thing and begin a scorched-earth rebuild.

However, this team is better than those other teams for two reasons--Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin. Unlike those days, the Sabres have a true No. 1 center and a true No.1 defenseman creating all kinds of space for the rest of the team when they're on the ice. Eichel is on pace for 92 points which would be Buffalo's highest point total since Pat LaFontaine had 93 points in the 1991-92 season and Dahlin's 45-point pace would the third-highest ever amongst Sabres rookie defensemen. And he's only 18 yrs. old.

No need to worry about those two as they bring it in their own way every shift, every night although they both have the tendency to try and do too much, which is to be expected when they're carrying the weigh of the team at times. But they have an elite skill-level and an internal belief in themselves that won't be shaken. As for the rest they're generally inconsistent and are either young, lack upper-level skill, are a bit long in the tooth, lack confidence and/or lack conviction.

It's where they stand now and why they're struggling to get out of the funk they're in.

Grace under pressure is mostly learned and this team definitely has some learning to do. Buffalo still a young team at it's core and is coming off of a last place finish which is a steep hill to climb to begin with. They also have a sophomore coach who still has a lot of learning to do as well. Uncertainty leads one to do things one really shouldn't be doing and a team like the Chicago Blackhawks, with a core of Hall-of-Famers and three Stanley Cups under their belts, can sense frustration and uncertainty and the fear that follows.

The Sabres lost 7-3 last night to the 30th place Blackhawks and it was a team-fail. Social media and chat rooms might be filled with hate for individual players but that's nothing more than a lesson in  futility as the ones they're trying to get rid of probably aren't going anywhere this season. With the trade deadline coming there will be wild scenarios floated under the premise that dead weight can be moved out and that one or two players coming in are going to help this club get to the playoffs, but anyone expecting huge changes, especially a combination of those two, are setting themselves up for disappointment (unless something weird and very unusual happens.)

Contrary to the hope being floated in those scenarios, the answers to Buffalo's problems this season, if they come, will come from within. That's the only way for each individual player to be responsible for his own actions and for them, and the team, to learn how to deal with pressure. Right now they don't have it and it might not even come this season. However, if it does, they'll have done it on their own and it will prove to be priceless moving forward.