(WGR 550/WBEN) – The Buffalo Sabres weren’t ready to play, weren’t ready to battle and weren’t ready to win a hockey game Monday in Seattle against the Kraken losing 6-4.
Seattle scored three different times immediately after Buffalo had scored which is another huge weakness of this team. Jack Quinn’s shot went in off a Seattle player to make it 1-0, but former Sabre John Hayden along with Mitch Stephens completely outworked Nic Aube-Kubel, Bo Byram and Rasmus Dahlin to tie the game 27 seconds later.
Buffalo was better in the second period at winning battles and took a 3-1 deficit and tied the game. Jason Zucker is one of the few Sabres that will post up at the net and he tipped in Rasmus Dahlin’s power play shot from the point and then Tage Thompson worked hard to keep a puck in, take a few steps and let it rip to beat Joey Daccord for is 20th goal of the season to make it 3-3, but just 56 seconds later, Zucker was late getting to Jamie Oleksiak who closed in from the left point to beat Devon Levi with a shot that you’d like to get a save on and it’s 4-3.
You would think erasing a two-goal deficit would spark this team, but it didn’t even come close.
In the third period, trailing 5-3, Ruff pulled Levi and Alex Tuch converted a Dylan Cozens rebound to make it 5-4 with 1:21 left, but Quinn was soft on the wall trying to keep a puck in and Jared McCann scored just 17 seconds after Tuch to make it a 6-4 final.
If there was one player I liked in this game it was the return of Jiri Kulich. He missed four games with a lower body injury and worked his way open in the slot on the first shift of the game only to be stopped by Daccord. He did it again later in the game, but Daccord stopped him again. Kulich wasn’t as fast as you’ll see him, but he should be able to ramp up quickly. He had six shot in 16:26 of ice-time.
In the end when you lose a majority of the battles and leave the middle of the ice open all afternoon long, you’re not going to win. There’s really not anything more to say.
This organization is a train wreck starting at the top filtering right through the players. Very little is done right, but you can start with Terry Pegula and go right down through the players. The only one with experience at his job is Lindy Ruff followed by a few players. THAT is why there’s no consistency and that is why they’re the worst team in the Eastern Conference and one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League, it’s not a fluke.
Looking to next Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers won’t have their super star player against the Sabres because Connor McDavid has been suspended three games for a vicious cross check to the face of the Vancouver Canucks Conor Garland.
In the same game, former Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers did the same to Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard so he too is suspended three games and will miss Tuesday’s game against the Sabres.