Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins is a hard game to write about.
The Buffalo Sabres were OK in some parts of the game, and awful in others. Boston, on the other hand, got some good offensive zone time for the first 11 minutes to start the game, establishing to the Sabres that it’s going to be a hard night.
Probably the biggest takeaway I had was Buffalo was 0-for-6 on the power play, including an absolutely horrendous 1:33 of a 6-on-3 advantage.
When Boston defenseman Jeremy Lauzon took a roughing penalty, there was 2:34 left in the third period, so Don Granato pulled his goalie to give them a three-man advantage. It turned into a complete disaster, as Buffalo got one chance, which was a Victor Olofsson one-timer from the slot. They put a shot or two over the net and lost almost every battle.
If you score a goal there, you cut Boston’s lead to 2-1 and maybe have a chance.
On three different occasions, the Sabres ended their power play by taking a penalty. To me, that’s just a lack of focus. Granato called it looking for the easy way out.
For the first 11 minutes of the game, Boston spent pretty much the whole time in Buffalo’s end. The Sabres were fortunate that it only resulted in one goal. Buffalo finally turned it around when Jake DeBrusk took a penalty and in the next eight minutes, had their best chances of the night.
Tuukka Rask had to make a nice save to his right on Arttu Ruotsalainen, and then he made the save of the year when Dylan Cozens thought he had a wide-open net. Rask dove to his left and somehow got his glove on the shot to make the save. Young Cozens had seven shots on goal in this game.
Rask stopped Casey Mittelstadt in alone off a 2-on-1, and Rasmus Dahlin hit the crossbar.
Buffalo went back to playing mostly in their own end throughout the second period, being outshot 16-6. Their only chance came when Rasmus Ristolainen came out of the penalty box and led a 2-on-1.
I never felt the Sabres would give up in the third and they didn’t. They only had 15 shots combined in the first 40 minutes, and forced Rask into 17 saves in the third period.
Rask certainly stole the show, making 32 saves for the shutout, but Boston just tried to be mistake free in all three zones, making life difficult for the Sabres.
I did find it interesting when Granato said after the game that there were times his team was looking for the easy way out. He said because of that, he’s happy Boston is their next opponent.
I just don’t have a lot of notes in my pad, because, at times, Boston just made it look mechanical.
Former Sabres forward Taylor Hall had six shots on Dustin Tokarski, but was also credited with three giveaways.
These same two teams will meet again on Thursday and Friday in Buffalo.
