0-5.
That’s the story of this hockey game. I could stop writing right now if I wanted to. The Buffalo Sabres lost their second game in a row to the Washington Capitals 2-1 in a game where the Sabres seemed to dominate the play and pace for most of the game.
But the special teams hurt the Sabres yet again. Last night, they were ineffective on the penalty kill. Tonight, it was a no-show from the powerplay units. The Sabres went 0-5 on the powerplay including a late PP with less than 5 minutes in the third.
Game Recap:
The first period was mostly uneventful. The Sabres controlled the play from the beginning but were unable to capitalize on not one… not two… but THREE powerplays in the first session. Oy. The Sabres controlled the play throughout the period and honestly much of the game.
Which was part of the reason they were able to draw those penalties in the first place. But with all the fire-power on those units, there is no reason that these chances should fall by the wayside. Krueger will have his team working PP drills all weekend in preparation for the Flyers on Monday evening.
The Capitals struck first in the second period after Rasmus Dahlin turned the puck over to Jakub Vrana at the Sabres blueline. Dahlin has had trouble with turnovers early in the year so far and this one was costly as Vrana was able to get in alone on Ullmark and pick his corner to take a 1-0 lead.
Cody Eakin missed a GOLDEN opportunity to tie the game in the second. Like seriously… how does that not even end up in a shot on the net?
More Colin Miller. Less Rasmus Dahlin. I never thought I would say that.
Another Sabres PP with 7:37 remaining in the second, but to no avail. The Sabres kept the pressure up throughout the period though. The boys were buzzing around the net with extended offensive zone time but couldn’t find a way through to the net late in the second.
They even had Alex Ovechkin selling out to wear a Ristolainen shot from the point.
The Sabres were full go, but the Caps withheld their initial rush and kept the game to a 1-0 score going into the 3rd. The Sabres outshot the Capitals 27-13 through two periods.
In the third period, things started to turn in Buffalo’s favor. Krueger gave us the first Reinhart-Eichel-Hall sighting of the year and their shift did not disappoint as Rasmus Ristolainen ripped a wrister from the point that was deflected in front.
Reinhart created some traffic in front as the puck deflected off of Tom Wilson and into the Caps net to tie the game at 1.
However, it wasn’t all roses for the Sabres in the 3rd. Colin Miller took an unfortunate spill while going to retrieve the puck in the d-zone and turned it over to Nicklas Backstrom, maybe the last guy you ever want to have the puck with a numbers advantage. He dropped a slick pass to Tom Wilson who buried it over the glove of Ullmark.
Late in the 3rd, the Sabres were granted one final powerplay opportunity after a Zdeno Chara holding penalty on Jeff Skinner.
Quick aside on Skinner, I think I can speak for all Sabres fans here. KEEP HIM OFF OF THE 4th LINE. Skinner was the best and most consistent forward for the Sabres tonight and continuously created chances sometimes all by himself. He deserves some more ice time and more opportunity because this team needed his effort tonight and he jump-started a couple of good shifts for them.
The story of the end of this game was missed nets and missed opportunities. Eichel One-Timer? Missed the net. Taylor Hall one-timer? Missed wide of the net. Dahlin one-timer with the extra attacker? Missed high and wide. The Sabres finished the game out-shooting the Capitals 31-21, but they also missed the net 14 times.
That was the death knell. The Sabres were buzzing at the end of the game just like they were in spots throughout, but couldn’t solve Vanacek in the end. The Sabres start the season 0-2-0 and will play next on Monday night in Philly to take on the Flyers.
Good news to take away? The Bills game is now less than 24 hours away.
Overview:
A better effort from start to finish from the Sabres, but no one wants to hear about moral victories. The reality is they dropped two important games to a team that they will be chasing in the playoff race this season.
While the effort was more consistent, the special teams’ issues are yet again showing up. Last night the penalty kill, tonight the power play. Krueger even moved the lines around a bit trying new combinations in the third period, we’ll monitor that going into Monday’s tilt.
Like last night, some things to build on and be excited about. Ullmark is the clear #1 starter and had a solid game. Eichel-Hall-Reinhart could be a dominant trio if they get some extended time together. But Dahlin struggled defensively and doesn’t look completely confident on the offensive end.
They have to help the youngster out in the form of a new partner or a focus on playing simpler hockey. He is too important to their success to keep having games like tonight.
GO BILLS.
Jake Majka is a web contributor for the Sabres and co-host of the Happy Hour Hoops podcast.