Derek Roy is one of the Sabres' leaders, but that says little right now...

What Happened to the Buffalo Sabres?

A year ago, they were the East’s best team, dominating the entire league, riding an amazing start to the season all the way to the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Now, a year removed from their tremendous season, the Sabres find themselves a few unlucky bounces and a losing streak here or there away from postseason elimination.

When Buffalo lost Chris Drury and Daniel Briere this off-season to free agency, most thought it would hurt Sabres’ chances at being an offensive juggernaut again, but did anyone think the organization would take this big of a hit?

As of right now, there is not a single player on the team averaging a point per game, with Derek Roy (10-13-23) and Tim Connolly (4-18-22) leading in scoring. Brian Campbell (2-18-20) is emerging as one of the NHL’s best offensive-defenceman with 10 power play points to date.

In goal, Ryan Miller is 11-12 with a 2.67 GAA and .905 SV% and Jocelyn Thibault has put together standard numbers for a backup (2-2, 3.55, .862).

So, where exactly is the problem for the Northeast Division’s last place club?

The special teams are having respectable seasons in comparison with the rest of the league as their seventh-ranked power play is converting 21.3% of the time and their penalty kill has earned an 82.6% rating, good enough for 12th in the NHL.

But, if you take a second to look at the club’s statistics, one category immediately jumps out as being sub par: plus/minus.

Campbell and Jaroslav Špaček have achieved +6 ratings through the first 28 games of the season, but aside from them, there are only six other players in positive digits. Maxim Afinogenov and Aleš Kotalík have combined for a -15 rating and only 26 points between the two. Paul Gaustad has chipped in with a -5 and Andrej Sekera has added an -8 of his own.

Look at Buffalo’s schedule and you will notice some other poor trends. Three times already this season the Sabres have managed to string together losing streaks of three games and have posted a disappointing 5-8-1 mark on the road. Their 6-7 record in divisional play has landed them a spot in the Northeast basement, five points behind the fourth place Maple Leafs who are beginning to come into their own.

It does not appear that the Senators, Bruins, or Canadiens are going to fall off anytime soon, and if the Leafs can keep up their strong offensive production then they might be able to sneak into playoff contention for the first time all season. All of this, coupled with inconsistent play for the Sabres can only mean one thing, an unhappy spring and summer without hockey for upstate New York.

The offence is there in spurts and the defence holding the fort down to the best of their abilities, but it is time the Sabres put everything together at once and make a run in the Northeast and eventually fight for one of the final spots in the Eastern Conference postseason. Lindy Ruff needs to shake things up and continue to test line combinations to find the perfect chemistry before Buffalo decides to become sellers instead of buyers at the trade deadline. Buffalo can still make noise in the East, but the time is ticking on their chances at a successful season.

Dangler of the Week

Pavel Datsyuk scored eight points (3-5) in four games for Detroit this week as they extended their current winning streak to seven games. Datsyuk had a +4 rating and a game winner for the first place Red Wings.

Bender of the Week

Jaromir Jagr has not recorded a point in four straight games and this week he was -4 in three games as the Rangers went 1-2. Jagr has only 21 points in 30 games this season and a -5 rating for the year.