The Buffalo Sabres have now gone six games and 11 days since recording their last win, as they were defeated 5-2 on Saturday afternoon by the New York Islanders inside Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island.
The blue and gold got the party started early, as a young defenseman registered his first career goal in the National Hockey League just 33 seconds in.
The goal for Jacob Bryson also doubled as his first-career NHL point in what was the sixth-game on his résumé. It sure felt like the team found some renewed vigor after general manager Kevyn Adams broke media silence Friday afternoon to express his frustrations with their play.
That feeling did not last much longer.
Though the Sabres kept the Islanders in check through the first period, the wheels on the blue and gold bus fell off in the second. New York scored three times against Buffalo and Carter Hutton in a span of just under five-minutes. Forwards Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and Cal Clutterbuck did the damage for Islanders from the 3:51 to the 8:45 mark of the middle stanza. Barzal's broke the ice for the home side, and it was one of the goals of the year in the NHL.
The deficit reached 4-1 when seven minutes later, Scott Mayfield was allowed to skate down the weak side of a Islanders' possession unguarded, and the defenseman beat Hutton for his second goal of the campaign.
Buffalo briefly made it a two-goal deficit, as within the first minute of the third period Sam Reinhart scored his ninth goal of the season. It was the second-such occurrence in the game where the Sabres notched a goal inside the first minute of a period. However, the Islanders had almost an immediate answer. With 2:15 gone, captain Anders Lee was the beneficiary of a Brandon Montour. Lee powered the puck home that was loose in the crease for a 5-2 New York advantage.
That score held as the eventual final as Buffalo dropped to 6-13-3 in the process.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 0:33 - Jacob Bryson (1) (Brandon Montour, Jack Eichel)
NYI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
NYI: 3:51 - Mathew Barzal (9) (Jordan Eberle, Scott Mayfield); 5:16 - Brock Nelson (7) (Anthony Beauvillier, Ryan Pulock); 8:45 - Cal Clutterbuck (2) (Matt Martin, Adam Pelech); 15:29 - Scott Mayfield (2) (Casey Cizikas, Jean-Gabriel Pageau)
Third Period:
BUF: 0:52 - Sam Reinhart (9) (Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Olofsson)
NYI: 2:15 - Anders Lee (11) (Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
NYI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
NYI: 18:45 - Scott Mayfield (Interference - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
NYI: NONE
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Scott Mayfield - NYI
2.) Mathew Barzal - NYI
3.) Anders Lee - NYI
What's Next:
The blue and gold wrap up this set with New York tomorrow afternoon. Faceoff inside Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island is set for 12 p.m. EST, and the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show is set for 11 a.m. EST on the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.