For the Sabres and their most recent Western Conference road trip, it was mission accomplished, but the moment of truth is about to begin.
The Buffalo Sabres finally played to our expectations in their recent Western Conference road trip, sweeping all three California teams. But another moment of truth is about to arrive, with a pair of homestands coming up in late November and early December with a lone road game sandwiched in between.
After a few days off, the Sabres will face the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks at KeyBank Center, and both teams look bound to make the postseason. Minnesota has been a red-hot surprise, and while Vancouver has seen its struggles, they’re not a team I’d be interested in taking too lightly.
Buffalo will then look to avenge its loss from earlier this season against the so-so NY Islanders and perhaps take Brock Nelson back to Western New York with them, too, before facing off with a trio of strong opponents in the Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and NY Rangers.
Following their matchup with the Jets and before squaring off with the Rangers, they’ll have a pair of easier but no less formidable foes in the Utah Hockey Club and Detroit Red Wings, so it’s safe to say this upcoming onslaught of strong opponents will test the Sabres. And better yet, we will learn a lot about whether their recent uptick in points is here to stay.
Sabres inconsistencies could stall their momentum in upcoming homestands
If you’re a Sabres fan these days, taking a pessimistic view isn’t out of the ordinary, as this hockey team has given us more false hope than we can care to think about. But maybe things will be different in late 2024 and they take three or four games against some of the toughest teams the NHL has while continuing to beat up on those we expect them to be earning two points against.
While we all have this dream scenario in mind, the Sabres have done nothing to let us believe they will even remotely pull this off. Still, if they manage it, then maybe it will finally be okay to show some faith in this hockey team for the long haul and that they will stay in the Atlantic Division’s top four, or at least well in the hunt to remain competitive.
Hey, for a team that’s 11-6-1 since that 0-3 start, you want to have faith and say, “Yeah, this is the year.” But after reading the same book and watching the same movie adaptation year after year, optimism, even after a relatively successful month and a half, is still hard to come by until the Sabres prove they can keep winning nearly twice as often as they’re losing.
