(WGR Sports Radio 550) - For the fourth time this season, the Buffalo Sabres failed to win their fourth game in-a-row, losing on Tuesday to the Dallas Stars, 4-2.
Buffalo has not won four-straight games since January of 2023.
The biggest thing, to me, in this game is the Sabres couldn’t get much going offensively because the passing wasn’t good at all. They still hung in there on the road against a better team, because Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was, once again, the best player on the ice.
Luukkonen stopped 29-of-32 shots he faced, even if he did let in a goal that he should’ve had by Roope Hintz. But he was hung out again to make seven or eight spectacular saves to keep his team in it.
The Hintz goal was squarely on Zach Benson. He got in on DeSmith, and put a great move on him and missed the wide-open net, hitting the post on the backhand. He had extended his shift, and instead of back-checking, he made a bad change, leaving Hintz open as he joined the rush late.
Benson had been on the ice for 1:38.
Buffalo really didn’t get going until after the Hintz goal when Jason Zucker tied the game at 1-1 just 31 seconds later. That goal came at the 10:20 mark of the period, and was a hard working goal.
The whole line of Zucker, Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson were at the net for Bo Byram’s shot. Thompson screened Casey DeSmith, and his deflection got behind Smith. Zucker then beat Thomas Harley to the puck laying there, and it was a 1-1 game.
Harley was gifted the game’s "Second Star", because he had two assists, but a play like that should’ve kept him out of the three stars. Luukkonen should’ve been star No 2.
The final 9:40 of the second period is where the Sabres played their best hockey of the night. They limited Dallas, and started playing in the offensive zone.
The best chance came from Sam Lafferty when he was open in front of DeSmith.
Dylan Cozens led a 2-on-1 down the ice, but tried a saucer pass to a role player in Beck Malenstyn, who likely isn’t going to be able to receive it. Cozens has to shoot on that play 10-out-of-10 times.
Malenstyn scored the type of goal he's great at when he went to the net and had Lafferty's shot go in off his leg. That made the score 2-2 just 4:57 into the third period.
The shots in the second were 10-10. Dallas dominated the scoring chances in the first and third, out shooting Buffalo, 23-13 combined.
Considering Luukkonen was, again, on top of his game and it was 1-1 after 40 minutes, that’s a game that Buffalo had to leave with points, and they didn’t. The Stars were the better team in the third period, and scored a goal they are best in the NHL at.
Harley was on the left boards and, as is usually the case, Dallas had players at the net. Wyatt Johnston tipped Harley’s shot right under the crossbar for the game-winning goal.
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The four-game road trip isn’t over yet, and Buffalo is currently 1-1-0. Overall away from Western New York, the Sabres are 7-11-1, which is a points percentage of just .395.
Buffalo is in Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.
Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for listening and reading!