Three Takeaways From The Buffalo Sabres 4-0 Loss To The Pittsburgh Penguins
Sabres cannot break through on Tristan Jarry, who makes 36 saves for the shutout
Three Takeaways From The Buffalo Sabres 4-0 Loss To The Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Buffalo Sabres were unable to generate any momentum after a 3-2 victory over Minnesota on Friday, as the club lost 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.
The game featured one of the weirdest goals of the season, as Evgeni Malkin’s opening goal late in the first was fired from the corner and banked off of the side of goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s mask into the net. Erik Karlsson scored a pair of goals, Drew O’Connor added his first of the season for the Penguins, and Tristan Jarry made 36 saves for his third shutout of the season. Luukkonen made 36 saves in the loss.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh:
11-7
The status of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson were up in the air going into the contest, as both sat out Friday’s win over the Wild. Sabres head coach Don Granato opted to sit Tuch (still recovering from an upper-body injury), insert Samuelsson, keep rookie Ryan Johnson in the lineup, and go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
The move was also necessitated by the demotion of Matthew Savoie back to Junior and the surprise scratch of Peyton Krebs, for which Granato would not elaborate after the game.
Unlucky Luukkonen
At times, Luukkonen appears to be more steady and solid than he was last season, and that is a key to the Sabres challenging for a playoff spot. The Malkin goal was a fluke, Karlsson’s goal was a deflection that no one would have stopped and his other was with the goalie pulled. The goal that might have served as a dagger was O’Connor’s goal late in the second period, which Luukkonen had a clear look at and let it bleed through his arm and body.
That goal may have been inconsequential since the Sabres did not score in the game, but it is unknown how they would have reacted to being down only 1-0 after two periods instead of 2-0.
Topsy Turvy
Through 15 games, the Sabres are 7-7-1 and have not been able to generate any real momentum this season. Injuries throughout the lineup, which have necessitated line combination and defensive pairing changes, and the use of three goalies is a legitimate reason for their inconsistency, but these are things that a club must overcome to make the postseason.
By no means is there reason to panic, since the Sabres are just one point out of a playoff spot, but it is something they will need to overcome as the season evolves.
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