Sabres Lose Against Pens, Fall Back Into Division Basement -- And It Could Get Worse From Here

Sidney )Crosby (left); Jason Zucker (right) — (Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Images)

The Buffalo Sabres are currently on a competitive roller-coaster ride. On Wednesday, they came into their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on a high, as they’d won four of their past five games, and they climbed out of the Atlantic Division’s basement, Things were looking up.

Then, on Wednesday, the Sabres put in an effort that wasn’t good enough to beat a sliding Pens team and solidify Buffalo’s spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The Sabres were beaten 4-2 by the Penguins, and that development, combined with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, means that the Sabres once again are the worst team in the East.

.The Sabres managed to tie the game against Pittsburgh at the 7:20 mark of the third period on a Jason Zucker goal. But 31 seconds after Zucker’s goal, the Penguins struck again on a Bryan Rust goal to make 3-1. And from there, the Penguins never looked back. They got a good performance out of Tristan Jarry, and they limited Buffalo to only 19 shots on net.

But here’s the deflating part: in the highly-competitive Atlantic, all eight teams in the division played on Wednesday. And by the time the day was done, five Atlantic teams were victorious, so climbing up the division was for the most part extremely difficult. And because the Sabres were one of those three loser teams in the Atlantic, they had more separation between them and most of the teams in the division.

Star Center Norris Nearing A Return To Action — But Can He Stay Healthy? Sabres veteran center Josh Norris is rumored to be returning from injury soon, which will give Buffalo a boost. But his injury history leaves lingering doubts about his ability to stay on the ice.

Thus, Buffalo can’t be content with just having a competitive game against any opponent. There’s a real and increasing pressure hanging over the Sabres, and every defeat they deal with is another nail in the coffin for coach Lindy Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams. And every loss is another step toward extending Buffalo’s Stanley Cup playoff drought to 15 years.

The Sabres’ next stretch of schedule is particularly daunting, as they take on the New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets (twice) and Philadelphia Flyers. All of those teams have had solid success this season, so Buffalo will be in tough to climb the Atlantic standings.

Despite Sabres’ Surge, Buffalo Faces Long Road Back To Relevancy The Buffalo Sabres’ playoff drought looks like it will extend for another year. But Sabres fans want more from the team than that. No more promises. Every game now dictates their fight for survival.

Buffalo’s poor start to the season now hangs over the Sabres. No matter what they do, they seem like they’re stuck at the bottom of the Atlantic.

The only way out of their current place in the standings is a slew of wins – and so far this season, Buffalo hasn’t shown they can do that.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Read the full article here