They can't win them all.
The Buffalo Sabres dropped their first game of the regular season on Friday night, a 4-1 defeat to old friend Linus Ullmark and the Boston Bruins.
Buffalo had plenty of chances, especially in the first period, peppering Ullmark with 15 shots on goal - many of then in front of the net - but could not score.
David Pastrnak opened the scoring early for the Bruins, beating Craig Anderson to put the Sabres down 1-0. Buffalo brought pressure all period with Dylan Cozens being foiled on a huge chance, as Ullmark got the back of his pad on a heavy shot. Colin Miller hit the post later in the first frame.
After that, the Bruins doubled their lead to end the first period.
Boston took a couple of penalties in the opening period, but the Sabres' power play was unable to take advantage.
The Bruins would extend their lead to 3-0 early in the second period with a goal from Charlie Coyle on the power play. Buffalo tried to claw their way back from there, but the Sabres couldn't muster any sort of offense against the Bruins.
Let's take a look at three observations from Friday night's loss:
1.) Ullmark is nearly unsolvable
Rasmus Dahlin had high hopes he'd get a puck behind his former teammate on Friday night, but Ullmark had other plans.
While Dahlin never really threatened, Ullmark found himself busy early trying to keep the puck out of the net. Cozens had, what looked like, a sure goal that bounced off of Ullmark's back leg. Sabres forward Jeff Skinner had an early chance on the backhand, but it went straight in to Ullmark's chest.
From there, Ullmark's night got easier as the Bruins played with a lead. The Sabres brought some pressure in the second period, but were not able to solve Ullmark until the third period when Sabres forward Victor Olofsson found himself with just a defender and a goaltender in front of him. Ullmark couldn't stop Olofsson's quick wrister to post a shutout.
One thing is for sure: Ullmark can't be too upset about his first game against his former team.
2.) Cozens is just waiting to become a stud
It is unbelievable that Cozens didn't come away with at least one goal on Friday night.
One chance that was sure to go in miraculously remained out of the net, and very likely kept the Sabres from staying competitive in this one.
The Cozens line, in general, had a strong performance against the Bruins, but it was the 20-year-old who kept the Bruins on their toes all night. He finished the night with six shots, three of which came right in front of the opposing team's net and in the slot. In terms of expected goals, these are the areas where at least one or two of every 10 shots goes in the net.
If not for a freak save by Ullmark, we might be talking about, at least, one of three.
3.) Sabres remain the more threatening team throughout
A final score of 4-1 isn't very indicative of what happened in Friday night's tilt. The Sabres brought it the Bruins all night, especially in the first period.
The Sabres outshot the Bruins 15-7 in the first period, mostly played at even strength. Buffalo's 5-on-5 play has been exceptional throughout the first three games of the season, and Friday night was no exception.
Buffalo led in shot share, taking 35 shots opposed to the Bruins' 25. The Sabres also had a 55% score-and-venue adjusted expected goals-for percentage, indicating a mostly even game with a small edge toward the Sabres, and also adjusts for Buffalo having to play from behind all game, as well as the venue the Sabres are playing in (different scorekeepers around the league track things differently).
For the first three games of the season, Buffalo was playing competition that was thought to be weaker throughout the league (although according to some preseason models, the Sabres were much worse than these teams.) The Bruins gave Buffalo their first test of a good team with talented finishers.
It's tough to say that the Sabres failed the test. They looked like they belonged all night, but couldn't get any sort of bounce to go their way.
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Buffalo will have a quick turnaround, traveling to the Garden State to take on Lindy's Ruff's New Jersey Devils squad on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Sabres pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol leading up to a 7 p.m. ET puck drop against the Devils. You can hear all the play-by-play action with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
