Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Sabres were back in action on Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks, looking to snap a five-game losing streak that has turned Buffalo's season South.
The Sabres came out slow to start the first period once again. Vancouver scored two goals within a minute of each other, the first from Dakota Joshua, and the second from Ethan Bear. Jeff Skinner answered shortly after for the Sabres making the score 2-1 Vancouver.
The second period proved to be the most active for both teams on the offensive side of the puck.
The Canucks connected first when Elias Pettersson made the score 3-1 just 31 seconds into the frame. Skinner scored his second goal of the game, bringing the Sabres to within one, but only for a brief period of time. J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat each netted goals on the power play, extending Vancouver's lead to 5-2. Alex Tuch then deflected a shot from the point making the score 5-3 before the second intermission.
Buffalo tried to get the offense going in the third period, but struggled to keep up sustained pressure in the offensive zone, at times. Casey Mittelstadt scored about halfway through the period and made the score 5-4. It seemed to spark the team for the remainder of the game, but ultimately, it was too little, too late.
The Sabres fell in their sixth-straight game, and continue to slide down the standing in a young season.
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Here are this game's three observations:
1.) Goaltending inconsistencies
The goaltending tandem of Craig Anderson and Eric Comrie has looked great, at times, this season. At other points, like Tuesday night, it's looked disastrous.
While the defense is partially to blame for some of the chances, a lot of the scoring chances that lead to goals are very savable shots.
Two of the five goals in this game, one could make an argument they should've been stopped by Anderson, while the other three were quality chances that are expected to go in on normal circumstances.
Obviously players make mistakes sometimes and goals that shouldn't go in do, but lately for the Sabres, that has been happening a lot more times than it should.
2.) Defensive sloppiness
The blue line for Buffalo has been ever changing this season due to players leaving or returning from injuries. The only defenseman that remains on the injured side of things is Mattias Samuelsson after Henri Jokiharju returned to the lineup Tuesday night.
Samuelsson has been the player the Sabres have missed the most, however, due to his consistencies in the defensive zone. He was injured in the second period of the Sabres' only other meeting with the Canucks this season back on Oct. 22.
Before the injury, the Sabres' record was 4-1. In the games since, the team is 3-8.
Jokiharju was a welcome addition back to the blue line, bringing some stability back to the top-six. Until they can get fully healthy on that front, though, the defense won't look as solid as it could.
3.) Keep on scoring
The one thing the Sabres have done fairly consistently all season is score goals. Most games they can stay in it and make things difficult for the other team by getting to within one goal with a late push that sometimes goes their way.
The team is currently top-five in average goals per-game at 3.67. This could, and should be much higher with the amount of shots off defenders' shin pads or off the goal posts, but sometimes luck isn't on your side.
With this continued string of losses, the shooters can't lose confidence in their ability to play their game. They need to continue being a high-scoring threat.
The defensive cleanup will come, and if the offense keeps up their game, the wins will start to appear again.
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The Sabres travel to Canada's capital to take on the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night to kick off a short road trip in Eastern Canada. The Senators are right on the heels of the Sabres in the standings, and are fresh off a loss to the New York Islanders on Monday.
Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. EST with Schopp and the Bulldog on the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
