Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres didn’t play well in any of the four games at home this week, and things were no different on Sunday in a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Buffalo just had too many mental breakdowns and too many mistakes to beat a team that totally outworked them.
Giving up goals at the end of the period is always a killer, but in the first period, a bouncing puck wound up behind Carter Hutton with just 17 seconds left in the period. In the second, Miles Wood took advantage of Colin Miller and Matt Irwin to fly by them and scored on his own rebound with 0.6 second left in the period.
Wood got his second of the game into the empty net with eight second left in the third, meaning New Jersey scored three of their five goals at the tail end of all three periods. Mix in the goal that Michael McLeod scored just 20 seconds into the game and it adds up to four goals scored when it appeared the Sabres lost concentration.
“Disastrous. It’s unacceptable in those phases of the game where you need to be tight and activated defensively, properly, and understand where you are in the game management," said Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger following the loss. "All three situations were extremely disappointing.”
The second period goal by Wood was particularly bad because Buffalo decided to get some folks to the net and it scored them two goals in 1:12. On the first, Curtis Lazar was in front and tipped in Rasmus Ristolainen’s shot from the right point the cut New Jersey’s lead to 2-1. Then on a power play, Ristolainen was camped in front of Eric Comrie and Rasmus Dahlin ripped a shot that Comrie never saw, scoring his first goal of the season.
You would think two hard-working goals would fuel them to get to their A-game, but it didn’t.
They lost concentration late in the second and had to use the third period to come back again. It was Ristolainen on the power play turning and scoring on a rebound, but a puck got through Hutton for the Devils' fourth goal, and the Sabres couldn’t recover.
“We didn’t play our A-game, that’s for sure," Ristolainen said after the loss. "We didn’t start well, and they won more one-on-one battles. By the end of the third, we for sure looked like the team that was more tired out there.”
Ever since Wood has come into the league, the Sabres have had no answer for him and his speed. In 11 games against Buffalo, the 25-year-old has six goals and eight points against them.
People keep asking me why the Sabres make every goaltender look like they’re the best in the league, and it’s because it’s too easy around the net. When they get a net-front presence, they tend to score goals, but it’s not enough.
“I feel that we are the better team. We have more skill, but we need to match their work ethic," Ristolainen said it best following the game.
This was a game where Krueger tried Jeff Skinner with Eric Staal and Dylan Cozens. It didn’t work, as they were Buffalo’s worst line.
The loss broke Buffalo’s five-game point streak, and another streak where they had picked up points in six out of seven games.
Buffalo is now tied for fifth with New Jersey in the East Division. The Devils have a better points percentage, because they’ve played one less game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins hold down the division’s fourth and final playoff spot, one point in front of New Jersey and the Sabres.
Buffalo will next be in action on Tuesday night in Long Island against the New York Islanders.
