The beginning of the 2025-26 NHL season has been nothing wanting nightmarish for the Buffalo Sabres, who’ve scored two total goals over three regulation losses to start the campaign.
Getting off to an 0-3 start is brutal in its own right, but coupled with the undeniable fact that the roster has already been decimated by injuries, the outlook is already looking bleak in Western Latest York.
Rasmus Dahlin didn’t mince words when asked concerning the Sabres’ struggles in a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on home ice on Monday afternoon.
“It isn’t ok,” the captain told reporters postgame, including NHL.com’s Heather Engel. “A variety of the areas. Higher start today, worse ending. Not good power play, good PK, good goaltending — we just cannot catch a break. We got to get out of this bulls**t.”
Buffalo is 0-11 with the person advantage through three contests, which is considered one of the fundamental culprits of the slow start. With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on IR to begin the 12 months, Alex Lyon has been serviceable between the pipes, allowing eight goals in that span. He’s given his squad a likelihood to win, however the offense cannot buy a goal.
It doesn’t help that, together with UPL, Jordan Greenway, Zach Benson and Michael Kesselring, the Sabres have also lost Josh Norris and Michael Kesselring to the injury bug.
Norris’ ailment is probably the most detrimental; the first-line center can be out long-term with a serious upper-body injury suffered within the third period of a season-opening 4-0 loss to the Latest York Rangers last Thursday. Benson is aiming for a fast return to the lineup after missing the beginning of the campaign recovering from a puck to the face in practice.
No matter who is out there, this team badly needs to show things around — and fast. The fanbase is already long out of patience, although that is what Tage Thompson was preaching after Monday’s loss.
Tage Thompson is staying positive
“I’m a giant believer that negativity breeds negativity, and that’s sort of how we’ve snowballed things up to now,” said Thompson, who has considered one of Buffalo’s two goals to begin the 12 months. “So, we will’t let three games be the top of the world, like I said.
“Obviously this sucks. Nobody desires to lose their first three games, but we’ve got a chance Wednesday (against the Ottawa Senators) to show it around, and I believe that’s all we’ve got to begin doing: just take a look at the following game. Can’t keep looking back — last three games, last 4 seasons, last 14 seasons, whatever you would like to do. We’ve just got to maintain our sights set on what’s next.”
What’s next for the Sabres is an all-Atlantic Division clash with the Senators on home ice on Wednesday. Once more, they’ll attempt to get their first win of the 2025-26 season against an Ottawa team that can be without Brady Tkachuk for at the very least a month.
Puck is about to drop just past 7:00 p.m. ET from Keybank Center.