Denver, Colo. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Counting the last two games on Wednesday and Thursday night, the Buffalo Sabres have been barraged by a combined final score of 11-5.
This time on Thursday, it was the Colorado Avalanche toying with the Sabres at Ball Arena in Denver.
The first period was a fly zone in Denver, as there were five goals on a mere 12 total shots between the two teams.
The first two goals of the game belonged to the Avalanche.
Forward Martin Necas scored on a breakaway just 52 seconds into the night, while forward Arrturi Lehkonen made it 2-0 just over five minutes later.
Lehkonen's tally spelled the end of the night early for Sabres goalie Alex Lyon, who was relieved by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
From there, Buffalo and Colorado traded goals the rest of the period. Twice, the Sabres pulled within a goal, with those goals being separated by the Avalanche's third goal from veteran forward Brock Nelson.
It was Bowen Byram getting the Sabres on the scoreboard, trimming the deficit to 2-1. Byram's second goal of the season came against his former team.
After Nelson's goal, it was Jordan Greenway's turn to keep the Sabres afloat. His first of the year made it a 3-2 contest in the "Mile High City".
Relative to the first period, the second was far tamer. Both sides seemed to settle a bit, and traded power play opportunities along the way.
One of those man advantages was fortuitous for the Sabres, as with five minutes left in the middle stanza, Tage Thompson uncorked a one-timer to tie the back-and-forth affair at 3-3.
Colorado responded quickly, though, and took the lead back just 86 seconds later.
Rookie center Gavin Brindley beat Luukkonen far-side to give the Avalanche a 4-3 lead, which they were able to retain through the rest of the period.
The Sabres dialed up the pressure in the third period, but it bore no fruit. The Avalanche withstood the late charge, all while adding two more goals to their total.
One of the few positives of the night was Buffalo's ability to frustrate all-world Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon. The Sabres kept him off the scoresheet for 57 minutes, but MacKinnon got his when the Avalanche needed it most.
It was MacKinnon feeding a centering pass to Necas, who scored to add another goal to his total on Thursday night.
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog added an empty-net goal to officially put the game away shortly thereafter.
It was Buffalo's eighth goal-allowed while skating with a 6-on-5 advantage this season. During that span, the Sabres have not scored a goal with the opponent's net empty.
The 6-3 loss dropped Buffalo to 0-5-2 on the road.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 7:47 - Bowen Byram (2) (Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch); 13:28 - Jordan Greenway (1) (Owen Power, Josh Doan)
COL: 0:52 - Martin Necas (11) (Cale Makar, Devon Toews); 6:10 - Arrturi Lehkonen (8) (Sam Malinski, Martin Necas); 9:46 - Brock Nelson (4) (Ross Colton, Gavin Brindley)
Second Period:
BUF: 14:56 - Tage Thompson (7) PPG (Isak Rosen, Peyton Krebs)
COL: 16:22 - Gavin Brindley (4) (Josh Manson, Brent Burns)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
COL: 16:53 - Martin Necas (12) (Nathan MacKinnon, Samuel Girard); 18:11 - Gabriel Landeskog (2) ENG (Martin Necas)
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Martin Necas - COL
2.) Gavin Brindley - COL
3.) Arrturi Lehkonen - COL
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What's Next:
The Sabres wrap up their four-game road trip in Detroit on Saturday night against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.