Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - We witnessed the worst home loss in the history of the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
At the 11:29 mark of the first period, Buffalo had built a 4-0 lead on the Colorado Avalanche. However, for the first time ever, they blew a four-goal lead at home and lost in regulation, 5-4.
It’s only the second time in the history of the team they’ve blown a four-goal lead in a game and lose.
All the hard work we saw in the first period to score four goals all went out the window in the final 40 minutes. Buffalo has not scored in five of the last six periods, and quite frankly, have looked pathetic while doing it.
I’m sure the Avalanche heard from their head coach Jared Bednar in the first intermission, and they came out flying. If it wasn’t for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, this game would’ve been tied by the time the second period was over.
After the game, Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens and Lindy Ruff all talked about panic, and they were absolutely right. Colorado came hard, won every battle, caused turnovers, and the Sabres all seemed afraid to even touch the puck.
After the fourth Buffalo goal, Scott Wedgewood came in, playing his first game with Colorado since being acquired from the Nashville Predators. He pretty much stood in his crease and watched the game unfold in front of him.
Buffalo stopped working hard for offensive chances, and Wedgewood only had one difficult save right near the end of the game from the slot. He handled 22 shots in 44:11 of work to pick up what was probably his easiest win ever in the NHL.
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This was not a game that is a "learning experience." Every player in the room, with the exception of Zach Benson and Jiri Kulich, have played long enough in the NHL to know they can’t just think they have it won after getting a 4-0 lead. There’s no lesson to be learned. If there is, then they shouldn’t be in the NHL.
"I think we got too casual. I think we thought it was going to be easy, and they were going to shut it down. But they're a good team, and they're going to have a push," said Tage Thompson following the loss. "I think their push intimidated us, and we let it fold on us. We didn't look like we had any confidence to make plays or execute anything coming out of our zone, and it looked like when we had it on our stick, we didn't want it. And once we were in our zone, we were just running around. A lot of panic in our game."
In less than a week, this team went from a team with some promise to a four-game losing streak and a signature loss that may define their season.
It doesn't get any easier from here, as the third-best team in the NHL will come to town on Thursday.
The Winnipeg Jets are an extremely tough team to play against. In just four games, the Sabres have gone from a team that works hard and defends pretty well to a team that panics and isn’t battling hard for the most part.
If that battle doesn’t re-emerge on Thursday, the Jets will eat them alive.