Three Takeaways From The Buffalo Sabres 9-4 Loss To The Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus scored seven straight goals on the Sabres in their worst loss of the season
Three Takeaways From The Buffalo Sabres 9-4 Loss To The Columbus Blue JacketsIn what has to be considered the lowest point of a disappointing season, the Buffalo Sabres took it on the chin from one of the few clubs below them in the NHL standings, losing 9-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Key Bank Center on Tuesday night.
The Sabres uncharacteristically jumped out to an early lead, with Rasmus Dahlin scoring 30 seconds into the game, but the Blue Jackets scored the next seven goals in the first and second periods.
Rookie Devon Levi was pulled after allowing four goals on 18 shots, and backup Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen fared worse, allowing five goals on 16 shots. Kirill Marchenko scored a natural hat trick for Columbus, with Johnny Gaudreau, Adam Fantilli, Erik Gudbranson, Sean Kuraly, Cole Sillinger, and Kent Johnson adding single tallies.
Buffalo staged a bit of a comeback early in the third, cutting the Blue Jackets lead to 7-4 on goals by Kyle Okposo, Tage Thompson, and Dylan Cozens, but Columbus replied with a pair of goals in quick succession.
Daniil Tarasov made 25 saves for his first victory of the season, which moved the Sabres record to 13-17-3.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 9-4 loss to the Blue Jackets:
Booing Buffalonians
The 14,888 fans at Key Bank Center had very little to feel festive about after Dahlin’s opening goal, booing the Sabres after the end of the first period trailing 3-1. The reaction got steadily worse as Columbus added to their lead after Levi was pulled in favor of Luukkonen, to the point that chants for Sabres head coach Don Granato to be fired were heard in the third period.
Minus Four
That was not the temperature in Western New York six days before Christmas, that was the plus/minus rating for four Sabres players; the defensive pairing of Henri Jokiharju and Owen Power, along with forwards Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson. Tuch left the game in the second period but returned to action and took a regular shift in the third.
Consistent Inconsistency
Head coach Don Granato chalked up the one-sided loss as a bad performance that the club needs to learn and move on from, but as the halfway point of the NHL season approaches, the Sabres have thus far proven they cannot put forth the same effort on a game-by-game basis. The club has the talent to defeat three of the best teams in the NHL over the last three weeks (Boston, New York, and Vegas), but over that stretch has also lost to Eastern Conference non-playoff teams Montreal, Detroit, and Columbus.
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