Buffalo could not overcome an early 3-0 deficit in Washington, and the 6-2 loss to the Capitals has them in third place in the Atlantic Division.
Saturday was an historic day for the Buffalo Sabres, as the club qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 15 years after the Detroit Red Wings lost 4-1 to the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon, but the Sabres recent struggles continued, as they fell two points behind Tampa Bay for top spot in the Atlantic and into third place following a 6-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Buffalo fell behind 3-0 less than six minutes into the game, with Alex Lyon being pulled in favor of rookie Colten Ellis. The Sabres narrowed the gap to 3-2 by the end of the first, but the Capitals re-established a two-goal cushion in the middle frame and pulled away with a pair of third-period goals.
The loss marked the Sabres first pair of consecutive regulation losses since before GM Kevyn Adams was fired in early December and the fifth loss in the last seven games (2-3-2). It was also the third straight subpar outing for Lyon, who allowed six goals on 33 shots in an overtime loss to Anaheim on March 22 and four goals on 19 shots against Detroit on March 27.
The Lightning pulled into a two-point lead for top spot with a 3-1 win over Boston on Saturday, and Montreal tied the Sabres with 100 points and into second place based on having a game in hand and a one-game lead in regulation/overtime wins after a 4-3 shootout win in New Jersey. Monday’s matchup against Tampa Bay takes on even more meaning for Buffalo, as it is a must-win to keep their chances of winning the division alive. The Sabres could be two points behind the Habs by that time, since Montreal and the Devils face each other in the second of a home-and-home at the Bell Centre on Sunday night.
Other Sabres Stories
Head coach Lindy Ruff spoke after the game:
Thoughts on the slow start in the loss:
We can't defend as poorly as we did on those first couple goals. I mean, we left two guys wide open. Coverage wasn't good, and ends up in the back of the net. We've taken a lot of pride. Our defensive play has been a big reason why we got to where we got. We can't take that for granted. (We took the timeout and) I talked about our defensive zone coverage. Just talked about, we've got to get back, got to stop inside. We were circling. I thought we fought our way back to 3-2, if you look at the second period, we have a two-on-one, we don't execute, would have made the game 3-3, and that two-on-one turned into a two-on-one the other way, and and they finished it (and) made it 4-2, and then now we're chasing the game again.
Did you pull Lyon to change momentum?
Yeah, for sure. He wasn't out there covering those guys that were wide open. He was trying to.
All of a sudden, you are in third place, which seems kind of shocking given on where the club has been for weeks:
You just have to refocus. You look at some of those plays that we made in our own end that weren't good enough. If you start cheating a little bit on offense, it hurts you, and I thought a couple times we got on the wrong side of the puck, and it hurt us. (Turning things around) starts with breaking the puck out. We haven't broke the puck out well enough. I think the first or second goal when (Byram) had it, it should be a play we're breaking the puck out. We turn that over and turnovers like that. When we have the puck, our players are automatically starting to head the other direction. So everything's connected. Break the puck out better, buy a little more time for your defense going back.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo
THN.com/Free