The Buffalo Sabres have spent the early part of the season living with an uncomfortable truth: the results are uneven, and the crease is the biggest reason why.
After six games, Buffalo sits at 3-3-0. There’s been a bright spot in Monday’s win over the Florida Panthers, but there have also been blowout losses to the Dallas Stars and Utah Mammoth that have already stirred questions about where this team is headed.
The roster, at least on paper, drew criticism over the summer after the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram were not followed by splashy additions. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen, though, has stood by the group he has.
The problem is that the Sabres have not gotten enough from their goaltending. Buffalo is 31st in team save percentage at .830, and both Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis have struggled while Alex Lyon has been out with an upper-body injury.
That issue was front and center Tuesday when Rory Boylen of Sportsnet broke down the situation and why the conversation around Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is building again.
"It's early, but... the calls for Connor Hellebuyck are growing louder. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 59th of 63 goalies in Goals Saved Above Expected, and although Buffalo is among the best teams in expected 5-on-5 goal differential, they've actually been outscored 13-10 in that game state. There is no time to waste in a tight division, and as the Sabres sit 14th in the East in goal differential, the problem is squarely in the crease right now."
Buffalo and Winnipeg were tied together as trade partners ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, but no deal got done and the buzz quieted down over the following months. Even so, the Sabres still look like the clearest fit if Hellebuyck is eventually moved. He did not report to training camp and remains away from the Jets.
Kekalainen does have pieces to work with. Buffalo’s forward group is crowded, and the Sabres also have top prospect Radim Mrtka plus a first-round pick in the 2027 draft. That gives them enough trade capital to at least put together an attractive package for Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
Cheveldayoff has kept a firm stance since Hellebuyck made his trade request public, but the longer this drags on, the more sense it makes for everyone to move forward. Winnipeg’s 3-1-1 start without its All-Star goalie only adds another layer to the situation.
There is also a complication that didn’t exist before the draft. Both UPL and Josh Norris now have limited no-trade clauses, which removes a couple of names from any hypothetical deal. That matters, but it does not eliminate the possibility.
Boylen’s central point is hard to ignore: Buffalo cannot afford to sit on its hands. This is not a team that can wait until mid-December and expect the standings to hold still. The East is deeper and stronger than it was in 2025-26, and the last playoff spots could come down to a point or two.
Right now, every game lost because of poor goaltending is a problem that can come back to haunt them. Monday’s relief outing from Luukkonen against Florida was a positive note, but the broader picture has not changed.
The Sabres may simply be waiting to see whether Lyon can steady things when he returns. He has been practicing with the team, though there is still no firm timetable for game action.
That patience makes some sense, especially since Lyon was Buffalo’s most valuable player early in the 2025-26 campaign. He covered for the injured Luukkonen and helped stabilize things while Ellis was still a question mark after being claimed off waivers from the St.
Louis Blues.
Lyon, a 33-year-old Yale product, finished his first season in Western New York with a .907 SV% and was also the club’s best option in the playoffs with a .904 SV%.
If Lyon can spark the team, Buffalo could slide back into the three-goalie rotation that worked so well a season ago. If he can’t, the front office may have little choice but to go back into the market for help in net, Hellebuyck or someone else.
Because the bigger issue is hard to ignore: a team sitting near the bottom of the league in goaltending, the power play and the penalty kill is not built to keep pace in the East or the Atlantic Division, no matter how strong the 5-on-5 numbers look. And if the Sabres want to stay in the race for a second straight postseason trip, waiting forever is not really an option.
In Other News...
Sabres Open Road Trip With A Dahlin Problem Ruff Must Solve
Buffalos road trip opens with a lineup wrinkle that lands squarely on the blue line. Rasmus Dahlin is day-to-day, and the Sabres are heading out without their top defenseman as the trip begins, leaving Lindy Ruff with an early personnel decision to sort through before the games start to stack up.
For a team already trying to settle into the rhythm of life away from home, Dahlins absence changes the look and feel of the defense group right away. Ruff has to manage the opening leg without one of his most important players traveling with the team, and the next update on Dahlin will shape how Buffalo handles the rest of the trip. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Nearly Stole A Point Despite A Growing Problem
Even with Rasmus Dahlin out injured and Matt Grzelcyk on injured reserve, the Sabres found a way to push Montreal all the way to a shootout. Olen Zellweger gave Buffalo a jolt with two goals, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 35 shots, and a game that could have slipped away turned into a night where the Sabres were close enough to steal a point.
The bigger concern, though, is how often Buffalo is having to patch together its blue line just to stay afloat. The Canadiens took control in the second period before the Sabres battled back to force overtime, but the defensive absences have become hard to ignore, especially with another roster move needed to cover the gap and keep the group functional. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Injury Uncertainty Is Starting To Put Real Pressure On Buffalo
The Sabres early-season juggling act got a little more complicated this week, with head coach Lindy Ruff offering no significant update on Rasmus Dahlin after the defensemans upper-body injury. Buffalo has already had to lean on lineup changes throughout its 3-3-1 start, and the absence of one of its most important blue-line pieces only adds to the uncertainty around a team still trying to settle in.
The injury list is not easing up, either. Goalie Alex Lyon has hit a slight setback and will be off the ice for a few days, while Tyson Kozak has been sent back to Buffalo for further evaluation, leaving the Sabres to keep adjusting on the fly as the schedule moves on. For a club that has been trying to build some rhythm, the constant shuffling is starting to feel like more than just a short-term inconvenience. [Read more 🡒]