Absent some long winning streak, the Sabres are toast. There have been 77 winning streaks in the NHL of at least five games since the last time the Sabres won even four in a row in January 2023.
The Penguins snapped a three-game losing streak, improving to 19-20-8. The Sabres, now 17-23-5, will look to address their defensive and penalty-kill issues. Earlier this season they lost 11 straight games and have lost five of their last eight games.
On Friday, the Sabres weren’t drastically outplayed by the Penguins. Buffalo finished with a 42-19 advantage in shots. The Sabres had 63 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Sabres are still in last place in the Eastern Conference and currently sit nine points out of a playoff spot.
A rough second period, with six penalty minutes and three goals allowed, sank the Buffalo Sabres as they lost 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday at KeyBank Center. Buffalo began the middle frame with a 1-0 lead,
The Sabres survived despite becoming the first team in NHL shot tracking history (to 1965) to score a goal in a 20-minute period without a shot on goal.
BUFFALO -- Alex Nedeljkovic had a goal and an assist and made 40 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Zucker is an influential voice in the locker room and wants to make Buffalo better despite knowing he could be traded at the deadline.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff swapped Ryan McLeod and Dylan Cozens atop the lineup during the win over the Hurricanes, a move that paid immediate dividends with both players scoring goals on their new lines.
The Buffalo Sabres are among the teams in the NHL with the longest active postseason droughts. See which other teams make the list.
Alex Nedeljkovic left his crease as soon as the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie saw one of the Sabres send the puck behind his net late in the third period Friday night.
On Oct. 16 in Pittsburgh the Sabres started the habit of getting and blowing leads. Buffalo had a 2-0 and 3-1 first period lead against the Penguins only to lose in overtime on a Sidney Crosby overtime goal.