The Sabres lost their 16th straight game Thursday night during a 4-0 defeat to the Penguins. Jared McCann scored twice and Sidney Crosby dished out three assists and registered career point 1,300 in the victory.
Buffalo’s 16-game streak (0-14-2) ties the 2002-03 Penguins for the second-longest single-season winless streak since 2000-01. Only the 2003-04 Penguins (18 games) were worse. This is also the 32nd time in NHL history that a team has gone winless over a span of 16-plus games.
Their last win came Feb. 23 in a 4-1 win over the Devils.
How bad has it been for the Sabres? The winless streak has lasted 966:17 of game time with Buffalo leading for just 110:04. Only four of the 16 defeats have come by a single goal with 11 coming by three-plus goals. Five of the losses have been via shutout.
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The Sabres are firmly in 31st place in the NHL with a .250 points percentage. They’ve been shutout seven times this season. They have a total of six wins.
A forgettable season continued on even before Thursday’s loss when the Sabres learned that interim head coach Don Granato and interim head coach entered COVID-19 protocols. General manager Kevyn Adams manned the bench with AHL Rochester head coach Seth Appert traveling to Pittsburgh to help out.
“There’s a different perspective when you’re on the bench,” Adams said. “You’re feeling the emotions of the game, you’re understanding how the players are interacting. You see thing a little bit of a different way at ice level. So, for sure, for me, I learned.”
“In a season of unfortunate and terrible events, we’re just ready for it,” said Taylor Hall, who also added he’d be open to a trade if Adams approached him.
The Sabres play again Saturday in Boston before returning home for two games against the struggling Flyers to close out the month.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.