The Buffalo Sabres Cannot Get Out of Their Own Way

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Buffalo Sabres are shooting themselves in the foot.

If you haven’t been paying attention to professional hockey in western New York this season (or any season in the last decade, because let’s face it, they’ve all been about the same), let me catch you up. The Sabres started really well, and now they’re really bad again.

It’s been a tale of two seasons, bringing Buffalo to 12-13-2 on the campaign. It’s not as if all hope has been lost, and they do deserve some credit for a huge win on Wednesday, but we’ve grown accustomed to this team becoming irrelevant by Christmas.

On Friday night, the Sabres demonstrated yet another reason why that has been the case for years and years.

Something always seems to hamper the Sabres.

While hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo got a late goal from captain Kyle Okposo to all but guarantee it would get at least one point out of the game.

They did end up getting to overtime, but a play at the end of regulation put them at a disadvantage that would ultimately set them up for failure in the extra frame.

Veteran forward Jeff Skinner took exception to Penguins forward Jake Guenztel delivering an extra slash to Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson. Guentzel didn’t need to make that contact with the opposing netminder, and Skinner is entitled to make sure he knows that.

However, Skinner slashed the Penguins’ skater several times before catching him in the mouth with a cross-check that crossed a line and resulted in a five-minute major penalty.

The move was completely uncalled for by Skinner, and it led to Jeff Carter’s power play game-winner for the Pens.

If this had been done by someone playing for, say, the Tampa Bay Lightning, it would be just as bad on the surface, but it would be the first “what are they doing?” moment for that club. For the Sabres, it’s just the latest in a long line of headscratchers that seem to keep this franchise down.

With 32 points in 27 games, Skinner is Buffalo’s second-leading scorer, and he’s been great this season. Something like this, though, is inexcusable, and it’s just the latest hurdle for the Sabres franchise to overcome.