Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Back on Nov. 23, the Sabres left California on a three-game winning streak, in third place in the Atlantic Division, and on their way home for 7-of-8 games back in Buffalo.
At the time, they were 6-4-0 playing in Buffalo and were 7-2-0 in their last nine games.
However, this group did what they’ve done for two-and-a-half years: Lost eight-straight games, with six of those losses coming one goal.
Buffalo didn’t put a 60-minute effort in against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, and they lost 3-2.
Yes, they played the third period like they’re capable of playing, putting a lot of pressure on the Rangers defense and goaltender Igor Shersterkin. However, they got down 2-0 when Reilly Smith just put a puck into the crease to see what happens and it hit defenseman Owen Power and went in.
Power was a different player after head coach Lindy Ruff benched him for most of the first period. Power was killing a penalty, turned the puck over, and Mika Zibanejad capitalized to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Power only played four shifts and 2:57 in the first period.
When Ruff put him on the ice in the second, he was a different player. He looked like the player the Sabres are hoping he can become. Power was good defensively, and was in on both Buffalo goals.
The 22-year-old ripped a shot to the corner of the net to make it 2-1 with 4:51 left, while he also set up Tage Thompson for a one-timer after Adam Fox had scored an empty-netter to make it 3-1. Thompson made it 3-2, but there was only 37.7 seconds left in regulation time.
Related
The story of this game is three-fold:
1.) They didn’t play hard for all 60 minutes.
2.) It took a benching of two of their young core players to get them to play smart and play hard.
3.) They had plenty of great chances to win this game, but couldn’t bury their chances.
Missing the net continues to be a huge problem for this team, and it costs them games. Wednesday night saw the Sabres miss the net 22 times.
It’s great the Sabres played a good third period, but in the end, what does it matter? They still lost, and they’ve lost eight-straight games.
And things don't get any easier from here, with road dates coming up this weekend against the No. 2 team in the NHL, the Washington Capitals, and the No. 8 team in the league, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Sabres are the 28th-best team in the NHL with a points percentage of .448. That’s where this team is at after four full seasons, plus 29 games of the Kevyn Adams era.