Sabres Cannot Find Success On the Road This Season

According to Natural Stat Trick, Lyon, in five road games, has a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.72, a save percentage (SV%) of .874, and a goals saved above expected (GSAx) of 0.46. Luukkonen has a GAA of 3.45, a SV% of .859, and a GSAx of negative-0.78. Ellis has a GAA of 4.04, a SV% of .875, and a GSAx of 0.31. The Sabres need better performances out of these three players if the team wants to turn their road struggles around.

It’s more than just the goaltending, though. How about the forwards and defense? The Sabres roster has three players with four or more road games played, each with a goals-for percentage of 50% or higher: Zach Benson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Isak Rosen, which needs to change. They also have three players who have an on-ice goal differential of zero or higher: Benson (plus-1), Dahlin (zero), and Rosen (zero).

The Sabres’ road games have not been super close, either; they have been outscored 41-24, with a goals-for per game of 2.66 and a goals-against per game of 4.55. There were a few games when it felt like the Sabres could have won, but let the game slip away.

The Sabres were leading the Utah Mammoth 2-0 halfway through their 5-2 loss on Nov. 12. They also clawed their way back down two goals, two separate times to tie the game at 3-3 in their 6-3 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 13, and lastly, in their 6-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 8, they were down 4-1. They got the game to within one goal in the third period before the Hurricanes scored two empty net goals late. Any of those games could have fallen the Sabres’ way, but they were unable to close them out and keep momentum on their side.

The Sabres’ only road win is against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 15 in a 5-4 overtime victory. Outside of that game, the Sabres have not had a game where I thought they played a complete 60-plus minutes. That needs to change if they want to compete for a playoff spot this season.

Sabres Still Have Time to Turn It Around

There are a few bright spots to their struggles on the road. First, we’re only a month and a half into the season; they’ve played only nine of 41 games on the road so far, and outside of a four-game road trip earlier in November, they haven’t played back-to-back road games. Secondly, it’s not like all of their games they’ve gotten blown out in. At one point or another, they’ve had chances to win hockey games inside their opponents’ buildings.

The Sabres have been unable to establish a real rhythm on the road; however, they have a chance to do so in December. From Dec. 3 to Dec 14, the Sabres will be going on a six-game road trip. Their opponents (with their current record) in those games will be:

• Dec. 3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (12-7-3)
• Dec. 5 @ Winnipeg Jets (12-10-0)
• Dec. 8 @ Calgary Flames (8-14-3)
• Dec. 9 @ Edmonton Oilers (10-10-5)
• Dec. 11 @ Vancouver Canucks (10-12-2)
• Dec. 14 @ Seattle Kraken (11-6-6)

All six of those games are very winnable for the Sabres, who seem to be getting healthier by the day. We’ve already seen Jason Zucker and Benson return to the lineup, and Josh Norris started skating with the team last week and could be back as soon as this week.

If there’s a time to turn around their road struggles, it’s during their long road trip. The goaltending needs to be better, but they will also need help in front of them, from Owen Power, who seems to be invisible some nights, to Dahlin and Thompson; everyone needs to chip in. If the Sabres start playing on the road as well as they have at home, they can begin to claw their way up the standings, but they need to turn it around now.