Buffalo Sabres Struck By Tampa Bay Lightning

A Buffalo Sabres team that is comprised largely of new pieces that are just learning to work together fell in its second game on Saturday afternoon, losing a 4-1 match with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Nicolas Deslauriers had the lone goal for the Buffalo Sabres, but the offensive effort wasn’t quite enough to par up with that of the Lightning.

In the end, Erik Condra, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and J.T. Brown scored for Tampa, who outshot the Sabres 31-25.

Newcomers Evander Kane and Jamie McGinn led the Sabres with four hits each this afternoon. Zemgus Girgensons, Tyler Ennis and Ryan O’Reilly each registered three shots on goal in the loss.

Chad Johnson had 27 saves.

Tampa Bay is a difficult time to face, especially coming off last year’s Stanley Cup Finals appearance. With offensive powerhouses in guys like Stamkos and Tyler Johnson, and defensive strongpoints in guys like Victor Hedman, topped off by the goaltending of Ben Bishop, they’re not an easy team to beat.

In the end, the Sabres did a lot of things right, but – as in the first game of the season – they looked like a team composed of individual players that are just learning how to play together. And that’s okay.

It’s completely understandable, in fact, especially when you consider just how much turnover the team has had over the past six months.

From the new bench boss in Dan Bylsma, to the new forwards like Kane, O’Reilly, McGinn, etc. and defensive newcomers like Carlo Colaiacovo and Cody Franson, finished off with new goalies like Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson — it’s a new season, but also a new team. It almost has to be expected, and understood, that the team will take some time to really get into their groove and meld.

O’Reilly was a high point of this afternoon’s game, as he won 79 percent of his faceoffs, including all four against Stamkos.

Off the ice, one thing that suffered today was the attendance. The corners of the 300 level were largely empty, and officially reported attendance was 17,739. That’s to be expected with Saturday matinee games, which may be difficult for some people (though great for families!). Monday’s afternoon game will likely see the same attendance figures, if not worse, due to the fact that some people (yours truly included) still have to work on the Columbus Day “holiday.”

Perhaps one of the most entertaining parts of watching today’s MSG broadcast (aside from the on-ice product, of course — always entertaining to watch Jack Eichel and co.) was this video below. It’s fun, lighthearted, entertaining and captures some great personalities:

The Buffalo Sabres rebound quickly, with a day off before their next game on Monday. They’ll host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 3 p.m.

Next: Will Eichel Win Calder?

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