We're down to 17 games remaining. Most of the Sabres community is officially in tank mode and on a quest for Sam Reinhart.
The 18-year-old Canadian has put together ridiculous seasons in the WHL: The Sabres trail Edmonton by eight points with a game in hand, so it's looking more and more that Buffalo could have the best chance at that #1 overall pick. That still doesn't guarantee them of the first pick, but does give them the most opportunity.
As you know, this has been one of the worst seasons in franchise history. In terms of goal scoring, their worst season had to be 2002-03 when they finished 27-37-10-8 and put up just 190 goals.
They'd be considered lucky to hit that mark this year. In 65 games, they've scored 129, an average of 1.89 goals per game. Sadly, that's actually better than it was in the beginning of the year.
As far as points, Buffalo can avoid a franchise low, which was back in 1971-72, when it registered 51, with the help of some ties.
1971-1972 16-43-19 (51 points) 1986-1987 28-44-8 (64 points) 2002-2003 27-37-10 (72 points) 2013-2014 19-38-8 (46 points) 17 games remaining
7 of the next 8 games are on the road, and only five more are at the First Niagara Center. With a look at the remaining schedule, I'm not sure they'll win more than 5-6 games.
As always, thank you for reading!