Assertiveness is rewarded in the NHL. In fact, it’s rewarded in an astounding way.
In the first 592 games of the season, the team that scored first was 423-115-54. That’s a .715 winning percentage and .760 points percentage.
The Sabres are not good at scoring first. That leads to not being good.
Buffalo lost its fifth straight game Tuesday night with a 5-1 setback to Florida. The Panthers scored the opening goal, making it 25 times in 40 games that the Sabres fell behind. They dropped to 6-15-4 in those games.
“I don’t think we were focused enough to start, and that killed us,” center Ryan O’Reilly said.