Twenty minutes is all it took to cost the Buffalo Sabres this game against the visiting San Jose Sharks, as their late-game surge fell short. The 3-2 defeat to the Sharks puts the Sabres on a five-game losing streak and quickly losing ground in the NHL’s Atlantic division.
By Carson Gates
The game started chippy as John Hayden found himself dropping the gloves again, this time with Sharks forward Jonah Gadjovich. Unfortunately for the Sabres, this did nothing to spark them.
Matt Nieto started the scoring onslaught for San Jose halfway through the first period. Tage Thompson lost the puck in the Sabres corner, then a quick tic-tac-toe passing play resulted in a Sharks one-time goal.
Just one minute later, a wonky zone entry saw the puck get lost in the linesman’s feet. This resulted in Timo Meier shooting the puck through a screened Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, doubling the Shark’s lead. This goal did not look pretty, but it’s hard to blame the Sabres netminder. Several players stood in front of Luukkonen, and they all lost sight of where the puck went.
The Sharks didn’t stop there. With only a few minutes left in the first period, they upped their lead to three. A Buffalo offensive turnover resulted in a three-on-two for San Jose. A pass found Tomas Hertl alone in the slot, and he beat Luukkonen above his blocker with a shot.
The first twenty minutes saw the stats even everywhere except on the scoreboard. Too many mental mistakes saw the blue and gold down once more. This team seemed to be afraid to make a mistake, this resulted in them making more in the process.
Don Granato stuck with Luukkonen for the second frame and the young net-minder responded well. After letting in three goals in the first period, Luukkonen shut the door the rest of the game. In turn, the Sabres were able to start rallying a comeback.
To give this Buffalo team credit, they did not give up. The Sabres came out flying to start the second period, as it culminated with Jeff Skinner scoring his 11th of the season. Buffalo finally won a puck battle along the wall with Skinner being able to pick up the puck and whizz a shot past the ear of Adin Hill. This was his second goal in as many games since returning from the COVID protocol.
Forty minutes ended with the shots in favor of the Sabres 17-16. Buffalo began to dominate the game during this period of play. Things began to look up for Buffalo going into the final frame.
The third period was controlled by Buffalo as the puck never really left the offensive zone. The Sabres had four times as many shots in the third period as the Sharks did. However, Buffalo only netted one goal which was one less than needed to extend the contest.
This goal came from the longest-tenured Sabre, Zemgus Girgensons. The 28-year-old knocked home a rebound on a six-on-four powerplay. A Thompson one-timer left a rebound for Girgensons to get the Sabres back into the game.
Buffalo had one minute to try and finish the comeback. To the Sabres’ credit, they had chances to tie the affair. With seconds on the clock, a backdoor rebound went through the legs of a sprawling Thompson. San Jose will be leaving Buffalo with the road victory.
What is the Sabres issue?
It seems like every game the Sabres have lost this season is due to them shooting themselves in the foot. This team has difficulties winning games, especially when they have to come back from a three-goal deficit. Tonight they were the better team for 40 minutes, but the lack of efficiency and mental lapses cost them the game in the first period.
A few days off between games did not seem to help Buffalo, as the first twenty minutes was one of the worst of the season. Inconsistencies throughout the lineup resulted in the pucks getting behind Luukkonen.
There was one player who consistently battled this game. No matter if things went well or not, he has always busted his ass for this team. That player is Rasmus Dahlin.
The 21-year-old has been the scapegoat for many on why this team has been unsuccessful. He has been the one player for this franchise who has cared the most since he has first put on his jersey. Not to mention he is playing close to thirty minutes every single night.
In the post-game press conference head coach, Don Granato recalled the speech he gave his team during the first intermission, “Just watch that guy. Absolutely amazing; when something goes wrong, he elevates. If something goes wrong, he’s trying so damn hard the next time. He’s fearless.”
The Sabres seemed to start playing fearless after this speech.
Hopefully, this young team can build off of the final forty minutes. They began to play “fearless” and dominated the game, but a lackluster first period ultimately cost them this game.
The final shots in the contest tallied 39-21 on the side of Buffalo.
The Sabres are back in action Tuesday when Tampa Bay comes into town.
Comment below how you felt this game went, and what this team can do to improve.