Sabres Struggle In Shootout Loss In Montreal, Dahlin "Doubtful" To Play Against Leafs

The Buffalo Sabres, after going 3-2 on a five-game homestand, finish out the month of October with seven of the next eight games on the road, including an odd bit of scheduling that has them playing the archrival Montreal Canadiens twice in the span of five days. 

The first match at the Bell Centre on Tuesday was a one-sided affair, where Les Habitants peppered Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with 38 shots, and Buffalo scored three times on 16 shots (including Olen Zellweger’s first two in a Sabres uniform) on Montreal rookie Jacob Fowler in regulation and overtime, but the Canadiens finally solved UPL in the shootout, as Cole Caufield, Alexandre Texier, and Zach Bolduc each scored in a 4-3 victory. 

“We lacked a lot of play making and a lot of energy. Our goalie got us a point.” Ruff said after the game. “It was a night we didn’t make a lot of plays. That second period may have been one of our worst periods in a long time……we didn’t generate any chances, we handed them two goals.”

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Buffalo is 0-1-1 on the road heading to Toronto for their first meeting with the Maple Leafs on Thursday. Head coach Lindy Ruff was interviewed on WGR 550 on Wednesday morning and indicated that it was doubtful that team captain Rasmus Dahlin will join the club after staying back in Buffalo after suffering a lower-body injury in Monday’s win over the Panthers. Dahlin is considered day-to-day, and Ruff did not say that definitively rule him out for the contest on Thursday. 

Ruff also indicated that forward Tyson Kozak is dealing with an upper-body injury and is back in Buffalo, and that goalie Alex Lyon had a setback in his rehab of a shoulder injury and will be off the ice for a few days.  

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