The last time the Buffalo Sabres came out and won a game, they did so at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey back on Feb. 23. The Sabres found themselves in the same arena three weeks later to face the same New Jersey Devils team, trying to stop a string of 11 games without a win.
Unfortunately, the streak has been extended to 12 after a 3-2 loss on Tuesday night.
Buffalo put up a fight, and even found themselves with a lead in the game after the Devils got the first score of the game. However, New Jersey battled back in the second period, and eventually re-gained the lead in the third.
Let's take a look at three key observations from the game:
1.) Sabres get scoring from their depth
Sabres forwards Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson have been solid goal-scoring contributors in the 2020-21 season, but the Sabres found some goals from down the lineup Tuesday night.
First, it was Tobias Rieder, who was recently a healthy scratch that drew back into the lineup on Monday against the Washington Capitals.
Rieder took advantage of a play that Devils forward Pavel Zacha tried to make, attempting to glove the puck but causing it to deflect toward the slot. Rieder drifted inside and fired a shot that went straight by Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Not even one minute later - 57 seconds to be exact - Jeff Skinner scored his second goal of the season. Brandon Montour started the play off a long pass that found its way all the way to the Devils' blue line to Casey Mittelstadt. Mittelstadt carried the pick in and threaded a pass to Skinner, who drove the net and put the puck on his backhand and in the net.
Buffalo cannot seem to figure out how to get contributions from their prime scorers. Getting more consistent depth scoring could help, but without the main scorers doing what they're good at, Buffalo's fortunes won't be getting any better.
2.) Power play shut out yet again
The lack of power play success continues to be a sticking point.
Buffalo, once again, could not convert with the man advantage, bringing their streak of games without a power play goal to 11.
The Sabres were at the top of the league in power play percentage 11 games ago, but as of Tuesday night after the loss, Buffalo has fallen to ninth in the NHL with a 26% conversion rate. The Sabres are 0-for-18 on the power play in their last 11 games.
3.) Krueger's timeout with less than a minute is a killer
The Sabres did a good job at the end of the game generating pressure with forwards Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Victor Olofsson, and extra attacker Sam Reinhart on the ice. The foursome closed out the final two minutes of the game.
With 30 seconds remaining, the Devils iced the puck after the four forwards forechecked and kept the Devils defense out for the same amount of time. The Devils were very tired after this sequence, and the Sabres had an opportunity to send out fresh lines.
Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger then opted to take a timeout, allowing the Devils to rest their players and give the Sabres an opportunity to draw up a game-tying play.
Krueger stated after the game that he liked the group that was out there already and wanted to try one more shot with the group already out there. Whether that would have made a difference, we'll never know, but it was a curious decision to make with the game on the line.
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Buffalo will get its next opportunity to end their winless streak this Thursday back at KeyBank Center, as the Sabres will face the Boston Bruins for the first time in the 2020-21 NHL season.
We'll get things started at 6 p.m. ET with the Paul William Beltz Postgame Show with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog. Puck drop is scheduled to take place just after 7 p.m. ET on the radio flagship station of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.