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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)

Sabres’ Inconsistencies Are the Team’s Achilles Heel

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Berta | Last updated Nov 22, 2025 2:45 PM ET

The Buffalo Sabres sit last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 8-9-4 (20 points), and are four points back of a wild card spot. Riding a 14-season playoff drought, the last thing the team needed was a start like this, but it could be due to the injuries they’ve been dealing with since the beginning of training camp. Although that is not an excuse for their poor start, it’s one of many reasons why they’re the only team under .500 in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres, all season, have been fighting a hole they dug, as they started 0-3-0. However, since then, the Sabres have had significant inconsistencies in their play on the ice. On Monday night, the team defeated the defending Western Conference champion, the Edmonton Oilers, 5-1; on Wednesday night, lost 6-2 to the worst team in the NHL, the Calgary Flames; and then followed it up with a 9-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

It goes deeper than just their nightly opponents, though. How about on home ice vs on the road? The Sabres have a 7-4-2 home record, accounting for 16 of their 20 points (80%), but on the road, their record is a mere 1-5-2, accounting for only four of their 20 points (20%). If they want to make the playoffs, their road performances will have to improve right away.

Talent vs. Execution Gap

The Sabres, on paper, have a really talented group of players. Rasmus Dahlin, who is in the Norris Trophy conversation every season, Tage Thompson, who is a 40-plus goalscorer, Alex Tuch, who is a 60-plus point scorer, to name a few. They also acquired Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring from the Utah Mammoth and signed goaltender Alex Lyon to a two-year contract in free agency. All three acquisitions have been key contributors to the Sabres through 21 games thus far.

We’ve seen how good the Sabres can be on any given night, not only from the games I listed above but also from other games throughout the season, but then there are other games where you wonder where the talent is. An example is having two losses to the Mammoth in a span of eight days (2-1 loss in overtime on Nov. 4, and a 5-2 loss on Nov. 12). The Mammoth have two wins in their last 11 games, both against the Sabres.

Another example is losing to the St. Louis Blues on home ice on Nov. 6, 3-0, another inferior opponent that the Sabres should have defeated. Of course, it’s unsustainable to play perfect hockey for 82 games; however, the team has too much talent to be losing to the Blues.

Sabres’ Star Players Need to Be More Consistent

All of the Sabres’ inconsistencies stem from one thing: their star and core players need to be better. Looking at the basic stat sheet, you’ll see Thompson has 20 points (11 goals and nine assists) through 21 games played, which is a good statistical start; however, 10 of those points are in his last seven games, and he’s riding a five-game point streak.

Tuch has been even more inconsistent, recording 20 points through 21 games, though he has eight points in his last seven games, which, on the surface, is good, but he has points in only four of those games.

The same goes for Dahlin and Doan. The Sabres need more consistency from their top players, and if they do, the team will be more consistent in the win-loss column. It all starts from the top and trickles down in the lineup. If the team’s leaders give max effort and produce night in and night out, the depth players will feed off that energy.

Mattias Samuelsson, who has been one of the Sabres’ better players this season, had a comment following their 6-2 loss against the Flames on Wednesday night, which has stuck with me since then: “And then there’s some games where maybe guys are just passengers or not enough guys pulling the same way.”

The Sabres need the accountability that he’s shown in this instance. He didn’t single out any players; he just made a general remark, and I think it was the right thing for him to say.

Mattias Samuelsson: "There’s some games where we put it together and everybody’s rolling, you see the potential. And then there’s some games where maybe guys are just passengers or not enough guys pulling the same way. Tonight I thought it was a little discombobulated."
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) November 20, 2025

At the end of the day, if the Sabres want to be more consistent, everyone needs to contribute. Will the Sabres turn around their inconsistent play, or will it continue throughout the season?