The XGF/60 and XGA/60 metrics point to a team that should be competitive and in the playoff race all season. The Sabres will be fine if they can just get average goaltending and special teams.

The encouraging thing about Jarmo Kekäläinen big game hunting is that he appears committed to making a splash addition to the Sabres at some point. My fear though is that while Buffalo helped their reputation with some across the NHL last season, I still think a lot of top players won’t be willing to waive their NMC’s to come here which means they’re likely limited in who they can pursue.

The Sabres have been much better defensively, analytically speaking this season than what the narratives surrounding them have been. The problem is their goaltending went from being among the best tandems in the NHL last year to one of the worst starts in the league right now.

I would LOVE the Sabres to trade for Dylan Larkin but can’t see a scenario in which he would approve a move to Buffalo.

The most frustrating thing about this Sabres season is that they gambled everything on a young group taking the next step and a three goalie rotation working once again coming off a season in which they were one goal away from the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is why so many on Sabres twitter telling people not to overreact to a quiet offseason and slow start was off the mark. I’m not to the point that they stink but they have three glaring issues and no apparent fixes to them. Sabres can definitely be a playoff team still but it’s time to start adjusting our expectations for them overall.