3 Buffalo Sabres players who deserve plenty of blame
The Buffalo Sabres are once again one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League. They expected to come into this season playing well after a good year last year.
Unfortunately, they are 13-17-3 which is good for 29 standings points. That is seven points below the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference but they have 33 games played which is four more than the Washington Capitals who hold that final spot. Things are not looking good.
Being in the lottery conversation looks more likely in terms of math than the playoffs at this point for Buffalo. There is a lot of hockey left to go but this is not where they wanted to be more than a quarter into the season.
There are lots of players doing what they need to be doing here but there are a few that are falling short of expectations. These are the three players that deserve the most blame:
Tage Thompson has not been good enough for the Buffalo Sabres
Tage Thompson has dealt with some injuries so far this year but he has now gotten into 24 games. In those 24 games, he has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points.
That isn't completely horrible offensive production for a forward but it is far below the leadership production that is needed from a player of his caliber. He was paid like a top scorer and he has been anything but that.
If he is playing, the Sabres need more from him. In 2022-23, he had 47 goals and 47 assists for 94 points in 78 games played. If he can back to that type of pace, the Sabres might be able to get back on track and start winning some games.
Devon Levi must be a better goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres
Devon Levi got into 7 games last season at the end of the year once his NCAA season was over. He was an elite college goalie with Northeastern before coming to the NHL so a lot of people were excited.
In those 7 games, he went 5-2-0 with a 2.94 GAA and a .905 save percentage. He then came into this season as a Calder Trophy candidate as a result of his brilliant first stint in the league.
Levi was underperforming this season to the point where he was sent to the AHL. He played very well there in two games but has since been returned.
In the NHL, he has played in 14 games this year. He is 6-4-2 with a 3.27 GAA and a .892 save percentage. You don't win in the NHL with subpar goaltending and this is worse than subpar goaltending.
Most of their success this season depended on Levi taking a step as an NHL goaltender and that was clearly too much to expect.
He is going to be a great player in the NHL but he has a long way to go in his development. He is only 21 which is very young for a pro goalie and it is obvious with Levi that he was thrown into the fire too soon.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen hasn't been better in goal for the Buffalo Sabres
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen hasn't been much better in goal for the Buffalo Sabres when Devon Levi is there. They needed at least one of them to play well and neither has.
Again, without good goaltending, you can't win. Their goaltending has been extra bad. Luukkonen is looking like someone who might not be suited for a full-time role in the NHL. He is close to turning 25 and has made 58 career starts (62 appearances).
This season, he is 6-8-1 with a 3.17 GAA and a .893 save percentage. Those are right on par with his career 26-27-7 record with a 3.38 GAA and .896 save percentage. It just isn't good enough for Buffalo.
This shouldn't all be pinned on the goaltending but if they even had league-average goaltenders right now they would be much better than 13-17-3.
It will be interesting to see if they will be the next team to fire their coach. That is something that has sparked a few other teams this season but the players just mostly haven't been good enough. These three get the most blame right now.
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