Sabres eliminated, done in by losing streaks, inconsistency in goal

The Buffalo Sabres were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention when they lost 6-2 to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Buffalo (40-33-7) failed to make the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season.
The Sabres, who have 87 points with two games remaining, already have reached their highest point total since 2011-12, when they earned 89 points and missed out on the playoffs after having lost in the Eastern Conference First Round the previous two seasons.
Here is a look at what happened in the 2022-23 season for the Sabres and why things could be better next season.

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The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Kyle Okposo, F; Zemgus Girgensons, F; Vinnie Hinostroza, F; Craig Anderson, G
Potential restricted free agents: Tyson Jost, C; Kale Clague, D
Potential 2022 Draft picks: 8

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What went wrong

Lack of additions at the Trade Deadline: On March 3, the day of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, the Sabres were four points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with four games in hand. They had a real shot at making the postseason and ending their long drought. But Buffalo only added forward Jordan Greenway, preferring not to go for rentals at the deadline and not to upset team chemistry. It was a gamble for a team contending for a spot and for which a trip to the playoffs would have meant a lot. It wasn't enough.
Losing streaks: Few teams with playoff aspirations go through the lengthy downturns the Sabres have gone through this season. There was an eight-game losing streak Nov. 4-19. There was a 1-4-1 skid Jan. 9-17. And there was a 2-8-2 stretch from Feb. 28-March 21. Buffalo's inability to turn things around when they were going south ultimately doomed them; once things started going badly for the Sabres, they tended to stay bad for too long.
The goalies: This season, Buffalo went with 41-year-old veteran Craig Anderson along with prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, 24, and Eric Comrie, 27, who had entered the season with only 28 career NHL games; it didn't work out as well as the Sabres had hoped. Comrie was injured twice and lost the starting job to Luukkonen, who is 17-11-4 with a 3.61 goals against average and .892 save percentage in 33 games, plagued by inconsistency. He was backed up by Anderson, 10-11-2 with a 3.07 GAA and .908 save percentage in 25 games. Rookie Devon Levi, 21, who made his NHL debut March 31, has gone 4-2-0 with a 3.09 GAA and .901 save percentage, is likely the goalie of the future for the Sabres, but this season they needed a goalie for now.

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Reasons for optimism

Tage Thompson: The center became a bona fide star this season, with 93 points (46 goals, 47 assists) in 76 games after having 68 points (38 goals, 30 assists) in 78 games last season. Just 25, Thompson was mentioned in the Hart Trophy conversation for the role he played in dragging the Sabres toward the playoffs. Thompson is going to be very, very good for a very, very long time.

Experience and maturation: Just getting this close to the playoffs will pay dividends for a team seeing many of its young players mature at the same time. The Sabres witnessed major steps taken by players like defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, 22, and center Dylan Cozens, 22, promise from forwards Jack Quinn, 21, and JJ Peterka, 21, and defensemen Owen Power, 20, and Mattias Samuelsson, 23. The way that next generation is maturing is reason for excitement in Buffalo and, more than that, having now been through a playoff race, even if they missed out, they should be all the more ready for it next season.
Don Granato: There were raves for Granato after he took over as coach for Ralph Krueger during the 2020-21 season. He's now two-plus seasons into his job and it's clear his players like him and like playing for him, though he couldn't quite get the Sabres into the playoffs this season. After going through five coaches between firing Lindy Ruff in 2012-13 and hiring Granato eight seasons later, Buffalo could use some stability behind the bench. The hope is Granato provides just that.