3 Major Differences Between Sabres and Winning Teams as Capitals Make It 9 Straight Losses

The Buffalo Sabres lost nine straight games, falling to the Washington Capitals 4-2. It was a tight game throughout, as the Sabres took a solid run at the league’s best team by points percentage. The Capitals ultimately won the special teams battle, which was the difference in the game.

As he’s done often this season, Jason Zucker opened the scoring. This time, Jordan Greenway’s deflection toward the net hit off Zucker and beat Capitals goalie Logan Thompson. Tom Wilson responded with a redirection of his own on the powerplay, sending both teams into the first intermission tied.

Wilson capitalized on the powerplay again early in the second, but Jiri Kulich deflected Bowen Byram’s point shot in to tie the game up once again. Dylan Strome scored 11:05 into the third, sending the Sabres into desperation mode.

Jakob Chychrun found the eventual empty net to seal the game for Washington. As the game unfolded, there was plenty of time to reflect on what has gone wrong for Buffalo.

Previous Game: Time for a Shake-Up: Rangers Defeat Sabres to Make it 8 Straight

Jack Quinn

Where is Jack Quinn, you might ask. Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft was healthy scratched for his fifth straight game. Head coach Lindy Ruff cited that he wants to see more production from the forward, as he has five points in 24 games this season.

In an injury-shortened 2023-2024 season, Quinn was on a 27-goal, full-season pace. The projection models liked his production in limited time, predicting a potential 30-goal season.

Instead, Quinn has failed to adapt to the more downhill, speed-driven system that Ruff has installed. He’s in that weird spot where the Sabres desperately need his talent, but the production doesn’t justify a spot in the lineup. Even on a nine-game losing streak, the Sabres can’t make room for their former top prospect.

Lack of Adding a Top Scorer in the Offseason

Quinn’s demise has only highlighted the fact that the Sabres did not acquire a bonafide top-six forward this offseason. Instead, they opted to buy out former 30-goal scorer Jeff Skinner and promote 19-year-old sophomore Zach Benson into an everyday scoring role.

More: Sabres GM Adams’ Presser Gets Defensive, ‘We Don’t Have Palm Trees’

Benson proved last season that he is great as a defensive, checking winger. Only flashes of offensive skill have surfaced this season, with nine points in 23 games. That’s only slightly better than Quinn and on-pace for less than last season’s 30 points as a rookie.

You can blame Dylan Cozens all you want for regressing, but the roster around him does not provide him with the appropriate supporting cast to be a true second-line center. Zucker, Greenway, and Ryan McLeod look like a solid third line. Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are fine fourth-line players.

Benson and Quinn are producing like bottom-sixers, which proves that general manager Kevyn Adams needed to make a move to push them down the depth chart. He failed, and the Sabres are free-falling down the standings because of it.

Sabres Missing a Defenseman

Rasmus Dahlin is injured, and he’d be irreplaceable on nearly every NHL team. Where the Sabres went wrong on defense was trusting Henri Jokiharju to be on one of their top-two pairings heading into the season.

As with Benson, Jokiharju was forced to play up the lineup. This was despite the acquisition of Bowen Byram at last season’s trade deadline, as the only other NHL-caliber right-shot option on the blueline is Connor Clifton.

Mattias Samuelsson was given a long-term contract after being lifted by playing on a pair with Dahlin. Speaking of Dahlin, he and Owen Power are also signed long-term. Byram’s contract is up at the end of the season, and the Sabres look like they should lock him up long-term in restricted free agency as well.

That leaves little room for Jokiharju, who was a healthy scratch once again in Washington. Jokiharju was one of only 12 Finnish defensemen to appear in an NHL game this season. Yet he was not selected to represent his country at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Ryan Johnson was elevated to the top pair as the Sabres are searching for answers. The young defenseman played well, but Buffalo is a quality player away on the blueline too – even when fully healthy.

Two glaring roster holes set the Sabres up to fail from the start this season. The poor play by some key players only heightens why it should’ve been a priority to fill those holes. Now, Buffalo sits second-last in the Eastern Conference, fourth-last in the NHL, and the light at the end of the tunnel fading.