Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - All the goodwill the Buffalo Sabres may have produced by going 4-1-1 has been erased after they lost their third-straight game on Saturday, 2-1, to the Detroit Red Wings.
It utterly amazes me that this team went 0-2-0 this weekend against the New York Islanders and Detroit. Only scoring two goals on Ilya Sorokin is understandable, but to get "goalied" in the third period by the below average Cam Talbot is just typical for this group.
It actually has been awhile since it happened, but Talbot made some great saves in the third period, where the Sabres kicked it into gear and showed some energy, some will to win battles and get sustained zone time. For the second-straight night, the Sabres spent their time getting shots blocked and missing the net.
Buffalo did not have a good second period, but escaped down just one goal.
Overall, the Sabres had over 70 shot attempts for the second-straight game. They had 32 shots on goal Saturday, with Talbot stopping 31 of those shots with 19 shots missing the net and 20 shots being blocked.
The Sabres didn’t do well on faceoffs, but in the third, Buffalo won two-consecutive offensive zone draws and both Rasmus Dahlin and JJ Peterka missed the net.
We did see some desperation from this team in the first and third periods.
Owen Power was very aware that a puck had gotten by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and headed for the goal line. He batted the puck away with his stick for a great save. Later, Alex Tuch got behind Luukkonen and blocked one shot, made a leg save on another, and then batted the puck away for a third save.
If you want to talk about compete, Tuch was right at the top of the list on Saturday. Right after Power kept the puck out of the net, Tuch swiped the puck from Dylan Larkin and walked in alone to make it 1-0 with a shorthanded goal.
Larkin more than made up for it on a second period power play. Jordan Greenway did a nice job of blocking a shot, but the puck went to Mattias Samuelsson and he couldn’t clear the puck. Larkin scored on Luukkonen just moments after.
Later in the second, Larkin was in front of the net, but Greenway got behind him instead of in front of him as he faced the net. When the puck came to Larkin, his stick was resting on Larkin’s, but he was behind him, giving Larkin an open look and his second goal of the game.
Buffalo went 0-for-2 on the power play, so both special teams lost them the game.
The Sabres had so many chances to get one or two points out of that game in the third period, but they leave this weekend with nothing.
Yes, they were smarter on Saturday, they had their best period of the weekend on Saturday, they scored a shorthanded goal on Saturday. But, at this point, they need wins and they need a lot of them.
Just playing better in one loss over the last loss is just not good enough.