The Buffalo Sabres gave themselves a lot more chances on Friday night than they did Thursday, but they couldn't capitalize in a second straight loss to the Washington Capitals, 2-1 at KeyBank Center.
Let's take a look at three observations throughout the game.
1.) Power play struggles to find the net
Buffalo had plenty of chances with the man advantage on Friday, but they couldn't really get much going from either five-man unit.
Even though they had a lot of trouble sustaining pressure in the zone, the Sabres were still able to generate seven shots on goal. However, none of those seven chances were all that dangerous.
On their last power play opportunity late in the third period, they could not get a single shot to hit the net. It ended up being Buffalo's last gasp in their effort to tie the game at 2-2 late.
The Sabres finished the night going 0-for-5 on the man advantage after going 1-for-3 on Thursday.
2.) Krueger still feeling out his lines
Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger started the game with the same lines he rolled with Thursday night. The only difference was Linus Ullmark manning the net in place of Carter Hutton.
While the Sabres had a better time generating pressure at 5-on-5 on Friday, they still had trouble finishing off scoring chances.
Krueger started juggling the lines a little bit at the end of the second period and found a combination he liked with forwards Taylor Hall, Jack Eichel, and Sam Reinhart.
Those three helped get the Sabres on the board early in the third period, setting up a goal from Rasmus Ristolainen to tie the game at 1-1, at the time.
3.) After two strong periods, Sabres falter in third
The Sabres held the shot advantage against the Capitals for, practically, the entire night. However, they couldn't get that to translate into goals.
A good portion of their shots came from outside the slot on Friday, many of which from the point. Buffalo needs to start figuring out ways to generate pressure closer to the net, especially on a green goaltender like Capitals rookie Vitek Vanecek, playing in his first career NHL game.
While they were able to finally score 31 seconds into the third period, they were only able to muster four more shots at the net in the final 19:29 of regulation.
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The Sabres will next head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Monday night in Game 3 of this 56-game 2020-21 season season. Faceoff on Monday is set for 7:30 p.m. EST and can be heard on the Radio Home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
Also be sure to check back for more observations after each game this season available at WGR550.com.
