Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres played a really good game on Tuesday against one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, but still lost to the Dallas Stars, 2-1.
All-Star goalie Jake Oettinger stood tall for the Stars, making 47 saves to help secure a Dallas victory.
The Sabres did a good job of competing and setting up good offensive opportunities. The problem is with the situation the team has put itself in this season, there is no choice than to bottom line this.
Playing well is not good enough. If you play this well, you must come away with a win.
The same thing happened for the Sabres back on Jan. 13 against a team that’s even better than the Stars, the Vancouver Canucks. Buffalo dominated much of that game against All-Star goalie Thatcher Demko, but still lost, 1-0.
That means Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave up just three goals to two of the highest scoring teams in the league, and the Sabres just wasted great goaltending, getting no points.
Luukkonen did give up one bad goal on Tuesday, but he was absolutely spectacular throughout the rest of the game, holding the score close as the Sabres tried to tie it at 2-2.
Luukkonen faced two 5-on-3 penalty kills for 1:19 and 17 seconds in the third period.
Dallas finished 1-for-5 on the power play on Tuesday.
For the first time in a long time, Rasmus Dahlin was dominant throughout the game. The Sabres defenseman played 29:16, which might be why he played so well.
Erik Johnson only played 9:02, while Ryan Johnson only played 9:28, as head coach Don Granato pretty much went with four defensemen.
Dahlin generated so much during this game and had some golden scoring opportunities, and that’s the problem. He has to convert in a 2-1 game.
In the first period, Dahlin is in down the slot and Oettinger makes a big save. Later, Casey Mittelstadt sets him up all alone in front, and he put the puck over the net.
Dahlin finished the night with eight shots on goal and 15 shots attempts.
He also had a beautiful pass to set up Buffalo’s only goal while on the power play.
The first half of the man advantage for Buffalo didn’t go well, but they got in, set up and snapped the puck around quickly. They competed for pucks and position, and Dallas made the mistake of losing track of Tage Thompson.
Thompson got himself free for an open one-timer from the left circle. Dahlin put the pass right in his wheelhouse, and his laser whizzed by Oettinger for his fourth power play goal of the year.
Last season, Thompson had 20 power play goals.
Just 3:11 later, Dallas scored a goal that the Sabres just don’t seem capable of coming back from.
Luukkonen stopped Craig Smith’s shot, but the puck rolled down his side and Radek Faksa was standing right next to him hoping for a rebound. While that was going on, Sam Steel went and stood in the crease, almost on the goal line.
Owen Power was right next to Steel, but didn’t tie him up or even cover him, and Faksa put the puck into the crease and it went in off Steel’s skate and in.
Luck goal? Not really, because Dallas knows that goals are scored when you’re hanging around the net, and they make their own breaks.
I will say the Sabres' net front presence was better on Tuesday, as they did have players around the net. However, Oettinger still had more clean looks at shots than he should have.
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It just seems whether it’s an All-Star goalie or a guy just called up from the American Hockey League, the opponent has Domink Hasek in goal.
Connor Clifton took a penalty at 17:11 of the third period, but there was still time to pull Luukkonen and get the extra attacker out there for the final 2:49. It almost worked, as with 9.8 seconds left in regulation, Thompson made a beautiful cross-ice pass to Mittelstadt who was open to the right of Oettinger.
In his postgame comments, Mittelstadt said he saw some net up high, but just didn’t get it there. He was, of course, very upset and frustrated after the game.
I would like to note that Mittelstadt won the final two faceoffs of the game from Joe Pavelski to give the Sabres a chance.
Another player who was stellar on Tuesday was Dylan Cozens.
When Henri Jokiharju went for tripping at 15:28 of the third period, Cozens knew he had to try to create something shorthanded, and boy did he. The 22-year-old used his speed to get a breakaway on Oettinger shorthanded, got the puck under Oettinger and through, but the Stars goaltender got a piece of it and the scoring chance slid wide of the post.
Cozens also had eight shots on goal, and his line with JJ Peterka and Zach Benson spent pretty much every shift in the first period in the offensive zone.
Cozens, Dahlin and Luukkonen were clearly the Sabres' best players on Tuesday.
The three stars of the night were Oettinger, Steel and Thompson, but mine would’ve been Oettinger, Luukkonen and Dahlin.
Buffalo gets another break here, as they don’t play until Saturday when they have a nationally televised game on ABC against the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues are another team they absolutely dominated in St. Louis, but another Hasek impersonator, Jordan Binnington, made 42 saves in a 6-4 victory on Nov. 30.
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