DETROIT – Late Saturday night, only 48 hours after outworking the Western Conference’s first-place Nashville Predators on the road, the Buffalo Sabres sat in the visitors’ dressing room wondering how everything went wrong on the ice at Little Caesars Arena.
The Sabres mustered only 22 shots on goal, went 0-for-5 on the power play and fell apart in the third period when there was an opportunity to mount a comeback. The myriad of mistakes led to a 4-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
“That was a bad one all the way around,” a frustrated Kyle Okposo said afterward.
Buffalo (11-20-6) has won back-to-back games only three times this season and was shut out for a third time, though Detroit goalie Alex Nedjelkovic was barely tested in this one. The Sabres struggled to break the puck out of the defensive zone – particularly during a first period in which the Red Wings had 22 shots on goal – and delivered what coach Don Granato confirmed was a “lethargic” performance in Tage Thompson’s return to the lineup.
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The Sabres have used five goalies this season, but there wasn’t a problem in net Saturday night. Aaron Dell delivered 37 saves and kept the deficit to two goals entering the third period. He was left to fend for himself during a first period in which his teammates were turnover prone.
“He’s probably the only guy who can feel good about himself after this game,” Sabres defenseman Robert Hagg said of Dell. “The rest of us need to look ourselves in the mirror.”
The lineup was closer to full strength with the return of Thompson, who missed the previous two games while in Covid-19 protocol. He didn’t skate during his five-day absence and took a 6 a.m. flight to join his teammates in Detroit, a valid excuse for his slow start to this game. But there wasn’t an excuse for how poorly the rest of the Sabres' forwards and defensemen played in this one.
Their lineup is closer to full strength. This was the first time this season Granato could deploy Thompson, Dylan Cozens and Alex Tuch in the same game. The trio combined for four shots on goal.
“I think it was they wanted to win the game more than we did from the drop of the puck,” lamented Okposo. “They came out and they wanted it. We never matched their intensity all night.”
The Red Wings (17-17-5) raced out to a 2-0 lead behind a pair of power-play goals, the latter of which occurred in the final seconds of Cody Eakin’s four-minute double minor for high sticking.
Tyler Bertuzzi opened the scoring at 8:57 into the game when he was left uncovered during a scramble in front of the net. The Sabres were still struggling to possess the puck when Eakin committed the infraction and while Buffalo’s penalty kill nearly escaped the dilemma, one mistake made the difference.
Robby Fabbri made it a two-goal advantage when he found space in the slot, collected a pass that Bertuzzi sent between the legs of Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju and shot into the open net to make it 2-0 with 51 seconds remaining in the first period.
“You have to find something there,” said Granato. “You have to dig and fight harder than that. We’re wearing it. That’s what I said to the guys after. You’ve got to look in the mirror, and it should be extremely disappointing to everyone in that room. “
The Sabres failed to score on their three power plays in the second period, recording only three shots on goal during those six minutes on the man advantage. While it was a sloppy 20 minutes for Buffalo, it managed to still be within striking distance.
Any chance of a comeback ended 13 seconds into the third period with Lucas Raymond’s goal, when the rookie winger skated behind the Sabres’ defense for a backdoor redirect. The Red Wings made it 4-0 with Michael Rasmussen’s breakaway goal shortly after he exited the penalty box.
“For some reason we didn’t show up today and it’s quite embarrassing, actually,” added Hagg.
The ugly finish to the two-game road trip continues the trend of the Sabres not stringing together strong performances – the only exception since October has been the road wins in Winnipeg and Minnesota before the holiday break – and all involved want it to end.
“Until you get good enough to string wins together, you’re not going to string wins together,” said Granato. “We obviously need to grow and need to get better.”
Here are other observations from Saturday:
1. By the numbers
Rasmus Dahlin led the Sabres in ice time (24:00), while Victor Olofsson and Colin Miller each had three shots on goal. … Buffalo had scored a power-play goal in five straight games entering Saturday, while Detroit’s power play was 30th in the NHL. … The Sabres won only 38% of their faceoffs. … Bertuzzi has three goals and seven points in three games against Buffalo this season. … Sabres prospect Jack Quinn had his first professional hat trick in Rochester’s overtime loss Saturday.
2. Around the boards
The Ottawa Sun newspaper reported Saturday that barring a last-minute change, the Ottawa Senators are expected to have no fans in Canadian Tire Centre when they host the Sabres on Tuesday night. The NHL doesn’t want to continue postponing games and fans are barred from attending as part of Ontario’s latest Covid-19 restrictions. The two teams are scheduled to play again in Ottawa on Jan. 25. … Sabres forward Peyton Krebs exited protocol and is expected to join the team for practice Sunday in KeyBank Center. … Forward Zemgus Girgensons was scratched from the Sabres’ lineup because of a lingering injury.
3. Next
The Sabres will host the Red Wings for a Monday matinee in KeyBank Center at 1 p.m.
