Frustration building with the Sabres after their third loss in a row
Frustration building with the Sabres after their third loss in a row
The Buffalo Sabres had a weekend where frustration continued to build for a club searching for answers. After a lopsided 6-2 loss in Carolina on Saturday, the Sabres played with more energy and effort, but could not overcome two first-period goals in 74 seconds in a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators at Key Bank Center on Saturday.
Filip Forsberg and Yakov Trenin scored to put the Predators up 2-0 in the first, in a period that Nashville outshot Buffalo 14-11. The Sabres got on the board via the penalty shot, as Victor Olofsson scored his third goal of the season to narrow the deficit to 2-1, but despite a push after the Olofsson goal and some desperation in the third to tie the game, the Preds and goalie Juuse Saros were equal to the task. Saros made 34 saves and was named the first star.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen kept Buffalo in the game after allowing the two early goals, making 27 saves in the loss.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 2-1 loss to the Predators:
Falling Behind
The common thread in the three losses to St. Louis, Carolina, and Nashville were early deficits and the Sabres inability to climb out of an early hole. The only game that Buffalo was able to respond to falling behind early was against the Blues, who took a 3-0 first-period lead. The Sabres responded and tied the game by the middle of the second period, but fell behind again and did not recover. Against Carolina, Buffalo did not put up much of a fight after Sebastian Aho and Jack Drury scored late in the first.
Against the Preds, the Sabres showed compete and a level of desperation only after falling behind, and two goals proved too much of a hill to climb with the current struggles of their offense.
Injuries Piling Up
Before the game, head coach Don Granato indicated that forward Jordan Greenway would not play after suffering an upper-body injury against Carolina on Saturday night. The Sabres lost another winger on Sunday, as Alex Tuch suffered a lower-body injury in the third period and did not return. Granato indicated that updates on Greenway, Tuch, Zemgus Girgensons, and Tage Thompson would be coming on Monday.
Johnson Rests In Back-To-Back
The Sabres played their fourth set of back-to-back games this season on Saturday and Sunday, and for the first time, veteran Erik Johnson was given the second of back-to-back games off. The 35-year-old missed his first game of the season after playing 24 straight and was replaced by rookie Ryan Johnson, who played 15:23 on Sunday.
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