The Tampa Bay Lightning were in a league of their own, as Buffalo dropped their sixth straight contest. In a game that saw Jack Quinn make his much anticipated Sabres debut, his teammates seemingly went missing. It’s as if Quinn’s solo lap in warmups stayed true for the whole game.
Buffalo looked like a JV team scrimmaging the Varsity squad. Almost every aspect of this game was controlled by the Lightning.
The only bright spot was the line combination of Jack Quinn, Dylan Cozens, and Vinnie Hinostroza. They played with pace and contributed half of the total shots by Sabres forwards.
First Period
The first period was summed up best by Buffalo’s announcer Rick Jeanneret, “The Sabres cannot stop turning the puck over.”
Once again, it did not take long for Buffalo to fall behind. In just two minutes, Tampa Bay took the lead and never looked back. Ondrej Palat received a high saucer pass from his teammate Victor Hedman. Palat immediately ripped the puck from the slot and beat the netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
A common theme all night for Buffalo was a piss-poor effort, especially in their own end. The second goal was no different, as Anthony Cirelli got a pass right to the slot from a three-on-two. On the bright side, Jack Quinn did a nice job of backchecking on this, however, there was no one else to pick up Cirelli in the middle.
After a lackluster 20 minutes, the Sabres saw themselves without their young goalie. Luukkonen stayed in the locker room with a “lower-body injury.”
Second Period
Malcolm Subban was tasked to be the backstop for the rest of this affair. Unfortunately for Subban, Nikita Kucherov squeaked one through for a three-goal lead. This rough start to the second all but sealed the deal for this game.
Lighting struck twice this night as Kucherov notched his second. He again found himself on the scoresheet halfway through the period.
Another turnover, another odd-man rush, another back door goal, and another Sabres rout.
Steven Stamkos also joined in on point night. You will never guess where this goal is scored from. For all those at home who said “the slot,” you are correct! For the fifth time of the night, the middle of the ice was wide open for the Lightning offense to do whatever they wanted.
This was one of the most embarrassing excuses for d-zone coverage I have seen in a long time. I’m not sure whether this team is afraid to make a mistake, or just confused defensively. Goals like this should never happen.
Just like that, the Sabres were down 5-0 heading into the final frame.
Third Period
Buffalo finally used their goal horn as Vinnie Hinostroza scored his seventh goal of the season. This tally came on the powerplay as Colin Miller took a shot from the point. Hinostroza found himself with the whole net to shoot at, as he slowed the bleeding for Buffalo.
It appears this is a systems issue as this goal looks very similar to the Stamkos tally. Every player in a set location with no one taking the moving Lightning players.
What went wrong?
Everything.
Jack Quinn
All season, fans could not wait to see Jack Quinn wearing a Buffalo jersey, yet this was one of the hardest games to watch in some time. When Quinn was on the ice, the Sabres were competitive. However, the rest of the team looked flat.
There was a higher being that was at power tonight. Quinn had two wide-open nets, with both somehow staying out. Let’s try to take it as the hockey gods wanting his first goal to come in a game that isn’t a one-sided blowout.
With the return of forwards Kyle Okposo, and Alex Tuch it is unknown whether Quinn will stay in Buffalo. While he was noticeable for the blue and gold tonight, that isn’t saying much.
Quinn led all Sabres skaters tonight with three shots on goal. In a game with a five-goal deficit, the 20-year-old was only a minus-one rating.
Overall, I would love to see more of number 22 on the ice in Buffalo. Alas, if we see more of this effort out of the team, it will be better to let him succeed in Rochester.
What’s next?
The blue-and-gold will look to snap their losing ways when they head to Nashville to face the Predators. The game will be this Thursday with an 8 pm puck drop.
Comment down below what you thought of Jack Quinn’s debut, as well as what you would do to fix the Sabres.
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