Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres were much better defensively on Tuesday night, but it still didn’t produce any points, as they lost 2-0 to the Anaheim Ducks.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his first start this season with the Sabres on Tuesday and stopped 21-of-23 shots. Luukkonen was very sharp, with one goal a spectacular play by Trevor Zegras and another tipped in by Sam Carrick. He had no chance on either goal.
The Sabres had been off since Saturday, while the Ducks played in Washington and went to overtime against the Capitals on Monday. However, for the first 40 minutes on Tuesday, it looked like the Sabres had played on Monday.
Head coach Don Granato hasn’t been all that upset after the losses started piling up 18 games ago, but after this one, he had reached the end of his rope. “We had a little push,” Granato said angrily. “They defended in front of their net very well and we did have a push late, but obviously it was disappointing, so it wasn’t good enough.” (The Ducks blocked 24 shots in the game)
Buffalo was only down 1-0 after 40 minutes, but Granato wasn’t at all happy, “What did I think of the first 40 minutes? I thought we looked a little lethargic. We didn’t play with the pace that we typically do.”
Sometimes when you really concentrate on defense, you lose your offense. Granato said to put it there would be an excuse, “I don’t want to say that, I just want to think about it, but that runs through my mind, but its tough to stand here and feel I can say that because it’s like you’re making an excuse and that doesn’t feel good.”
On the first goal, Zegras was behind the Buffalo net. He scooped the puck up onto the blade of his stick and lofted it over the net to Sam Milano who hit the puck out of the air for a goal. It was a skillful play, but Granato was livid about the sequence, “I didn’t like it. There were errors before that play that I really didn’t like out by the entry, it never should’ve gotten to that point.
There were plays prior to that that you could’ve eliminated it before it ever happened and those are a concern.”
It wasn’t a banner night for Rasmus Dahlin who continues to struggle with his game this season. Granato was pretty unhappy with what he saw on Tuesday, “He didn’t make plays that he normally does. He didn’t look like himself in that regard. He struggled to make some plays that are usually pretty simple for him, but he was one of the guys of many that I felt didn’t look like themselves. They didn’t play with the energy they normally do.”
So here we are not even to Christmas and it’s another season of no important games after the holidays. Buffalo is 17 points out of the final Atlantic Division playoff spot and 10 points out of a wild card spot. This after only 25 games.
Buffalo hosts the red-hot New York Rangers on Friday.
