Sabres stymied by Montreal’s Jake Allen in 36-save victory
Sabres stymied by Montreal’s Jake Allen in 36-save victory
The Buffalo Sabres ended a topsy-turvy four-game homestand on a losing note, as Montreal's Brendan Gallagher’s third-period goal stood up in a 3-1 loss to the Canadiens at Key Bank Center on Monday night.
After losing their first two games to the New York Rangers and Islanders, the Sabres were hoping to get healthy on home ice, but the end result was a 2-2 split with wins over Tampa Bay and the Isles and losses to Calgary and the Habs. Buffalo was once again victimized by a hot goaltender, as Montreal’s Jake Allen only surrendered a first-period power-play goal to Jeff Skinner and made 36 saves in the victory.
Eric Comrie made 24 saves in his second straight start for Buffalo, in the first of back-to-back games against Atlantic Division foes.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 3-1 loss to Montreal:
Frustration Mounting On Top Forwards
The Sabres have had the misfortune of starting the season against some of the NHL’s top goaltenders in Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin, but they have been held at bay by the likes of Daniel Vladar, Jonas Johansson, Semyon Varlamov, and Allen, who stopped Buffalo in its tracks. The Sabres could not take the lead on four power play opportunities, and top scorers Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch have been held to two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in six games.
“It's frustrating, but I think as soon as you let frustration and negativity set in, then you're never gonna get out of it. I think goals come in waves," Thompson said. "You just got to do the right things every shift and I thought tonight we did and obviously that's why that one hurt so much."
Home Record Woes
Many things can be pointed to as the reason why the Sabres missed the playoffs last season, including their defensive struggles and inconsistent goaltending that resulted in 300 goals against, but the club’s 17-20-4 record at Key Bank Center (third-worst in the Eastern Conference) nullified their third-best record in the East on the road.
Buffalo is 2-3-0 at home so far, and teams that aspire to make the postseason are usually dominant on home ice.
Attendance Below Expectations
Concerns over attendance in Winnipeg and the ongoing embarrassment of Arizona playing in a college arena have been front and center to start the season, the Sabres numbers have been surprisingly low based on the level of excitement the club generated nearly getting to the playoffs last season.
After a selling out the season opener against the Rangers, the club has averaged around 13,000 fans for three weekday home games and drew just over 16,000 for their first Saturday night home game.
NY Rangers – 19,070
Tampa Bay – 12,598
Calgary – 13,025
NY Islanders – 16,179
Montreal – 13,507
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