The Buffalo Sabres have struggled to find their groove offensively throughout their first 12 games of the season.
Buffalo had to once again rely on its volatile goaltending to get it through Tuesday’s shutout win over the San Jose Sharks. One reason? Their forwards have not been consistent in scoring goals.
On Tuesday, Zach Benson found the net at 19:05 in the third to ice the game for Buffalo. But it was an empty-netter, meaning the game-winning goal and the only other goal in the contest went to Olen Zellweger. Zellweger scored at the 0:50 mark of the second period with assists from Konsta Helenius and Owen Power to give the Sabres a lead they would never relinquish.
Zellweger’s goal was the tenth goal a defenseman scored this season. Buffalo has 33 goals in 2026-27, and 30.3 percent of them have gone to defensemen. That hurts for a team that possesses one of the most dangerous scorers and playmakers in the game, Tage Thompson.
Tage has five goals in 12 games and is second on the team in goals to Jack Quinn, who has six. That’s 11 goals by two Sabres forwards, meaning the remaining 12 have been split among the rest of Buffalo’s forward group.
Sabres’ Underlying Numbers May Reveal Why Forwards Are Struggling To Score
It is not like the Sabres are spending an eternity in their defensive zone and aren’t taking shots. At 5-on-5, they own a 53.4 Corsi For Percentage. Buffalo also has a 52.5 Scoring Chances For Percentage and a 52.9 High-Danger Chances For Percentage.
That said, Buffalo’s shooting percentage at 5-on-5 sits at 8.4 percent. That is .3 below the NHL average. Not an awful number, but one they can improve. The more alarming statistic? Buffalo has converted just one of their 82 high-danger chances. That’s a 1.2 High-Danger Chance Percentage.
These numbers imply how inconsistent the forward group is, and how the Sabres’ defensemen have had to step up in droves. That said, things could be a lot worse for Buffalo. The Sabres are one of the league’s youngest teams, clocking in at an average age of 25.9. So consistent play in all position groups isn’t always going to happen.
Still, imagine how high-octane Buffalo can get if they quit relying on their blue line to score.
Blue Line Finding The Net At An Alarming Pace
Noah Ostlund is the only other Sabres forward with at least three goals. Joshua Norris and Josh Doan each have two. Counting Tage and Quinn, the Sabres have five forwards who have scored multiple goals this season, and five forwards among Buffalo’s top nine scorers.
The rest of them are on the blue line. Zellweger’s goal on Tuesday night was his third of the season, and he leads all Sabres defensemen in goals. Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and Rasmus Dahlin each have two. Dennis Gilbert, who has appeared in four games with Buffalo, also scored.
The question is: how long will the blue line keep this up? Defensemen are known for putting their forwards in a position to score. Right now, the forward group hasn’t been capitalizing on it.
The good news? Should the Buffalo Sabres forwards get consistent and start scoring regularly, they can transform back into the dangerous team they were in 2025-26.
Sabres’ Offense Has Developed An Unexpected Dependency