Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – If I was Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato, I would take the Dallas Stars’ goals from Thursday and run them on continuous loop. It’s all pretty simple, the Stars score goals because they have men going to the net.
Dallas is big and plays a heavy game, which caused the Sabres to turn the puck over all night long.
On the Stars' first goal, Jeff Skinner tried to force a cross-ice pass in the offensive zone, which was deflected and Dallas went into transition.
In the defensive zone, Tage Thompson tried a no-look back pass along the wall that went to Evgenii Dadonov. Wyatt Johnston tipped in Jani Hakanpaa’s shot, and Dallas never looked back.
Buffalo came into the week looking good for a playoff spot. In four days and three games, they weren’t ready for the pressure of it all.
This is the first time most of them have played big games for a playoff spot in the NHL, and they’re getting a big dose of it and are learning they must be better.
When your best players aren’t even close to their best, while also having a guy on a 40-goal pace out injured, it’s impossible to win.
Thompson is learning at this time of year teams are not going to let him get to his game easily. The challenge for him needs to be what can he do to break through the attention and matter.
The 25-year-old hasn’t mattered in three games, and against Dallas, played probably his worst game since moving to center. This week has been the three biggest games of his young NHL career, and he didn’t score in any of them.
In my mind, Rasmus Dahlin has to be playing injured. I asked him straight up if he was playing hurt, and he said no. He hasn’t scored a goal in 15 games, and just hasn’t been himself for a while. There’s hesitation in his game, and he’s playing like he’s afraid to make a mistake.
Granato talked about it after the game that he doesn’t want his players playing with fear, and that’s what we’ve seen in the past two games, especially on Thursday.
Victor Olofsson is no longer a young player and, yes, he has 24 goals - a 31-goal pace - but there are too many games where he totally goes away.
The winger scored his first goal in 16 games to make the score 9-4. He also has other times this season where he has two goals in 15 games and no goals in eight.
A week ago in Boston, the Sabres were down 3-0 with about five minutes left and hung Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen out to dry, losing 7-1. They did the same thing to Eric Comrie in this one.
Midway through the third period, the score was 5-2 and Dadonov scored. For the second time in a week, the team quit on their goaltender. They left Comrie to try to stop 2-on-0 and 3-on-1 breakaways, as defensive zone coverage was non-existent
Much of the young talent in this organization is still being developed, so when Alex Tuch goes out with an injury, it’s hard to make up for a guy that was on a 40-goal pace. What’s not hard is playing until the very end.
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Buffalo has now lost 20-of-33 home games this season, but the team is still not out of it. However, losing five out of six games certainly makes it a lot more difficult.
The Sabres no longer have their own destiny in their hands. They’re six points out of a playoff spot, and they now need help. Games in-hand mean nothing if you don’t win them.
Things don’t get any easier on Saturday, as the New York Rangers are in town.
