No, it's not just the icy environment: Things really have gone very cold for the Buffalo Sabres of late. After another on Tuesday night, the team has lost 11 consecutive games, earning a point in three of them for forcing overtime. In that period, the Sabres have given up 45 goals and scored just 24, getting shut out entirely in two contests. Not a recipe for success.
Head coach Lindy Ruff, who led the team through one of its most successful runs from 1997-2013 before being fired, is back in his first season of a second stint with the team. His winning percentage (.406) is getting dangerously close to his winning percentage the season he was fired (.382) after a –6–10 start from Buffalo.
Recently, team co-owner Terry Pegula traveled to Montreal to meet the team, viewed as a sign of how dire wins are needed for Buffalo. His visit was reportedly supportive of the team Buffalo has in place.
Now, with 11 in a row, how close are the Sabres to the worst record of them all in hockey?
NHL Record for Longest Losing Streaks
Here is how the record book looks, courtesy of the NHL's records:
Two NHL teams have recorded a record-worst 17 losses in a row: The 1974–75 Washington Capitals and the 1992–93 San Jose Sharks. The Sharks of that era also lost 13 in a row three times in the span of two consecutive seasons from 1991 to '93 to go along with their 17 straight. That contributed to their 11-71-2 record in 1993, just their second year as a franchise.
Another loss for Buffalo (which would be against the Maple Leafs on Friday) would put them at 12 in a row, tied for the 17th-longest in NHL history, a skid that the Sharks reached last season. A 13th loss Saturday Buffalo against the Bruins would tie them with the ninth-longest streak.
If they come out of the weekend still without a win, a loss on Monday against the Islanders would tie them with the fourth-longest streak.
That would put the Sabres on schedule for tying the record on New Year's Eve against the Islanders. They could break the lowly record Jan. 2 against the Avalanche.
That's, of course, assuming Buffalo can't rattle off even a single win between now and then, which is improbable, even with as poor as they've been playing of late.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Longest Losing Streaks in NHL History: Can the Buffalo Sabres Set a New Record?.
