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Sabres show almost no resistance in a blowout loss to the Islanders

By Jacob LeBlanc

Mar 4, 2021; Uniondale, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Anthony Beauvillier (18) scores a goal against Buffalo Sabres goalie Jonas Johansson (34) in front of Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) during the second period at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2021; Uniondale, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Anthony Beauvillier (18) scores a goal against Buffalo Sabres goalie Jonas Johansson (34) in front of Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) during the second period at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Buffalo Sabres lacked any sort of fight once again in yet another loss last night. The Sabres were no match for the New York Islanders as they lost 5-2. And it doesn’t get any easier as Buffalo has two more games against the Islanders on their current road trip. Buffalo’s losing streak is now up to five games, and with back-to-back games against the Islanders coming up this weekend, that losing streak could very quickly grow to seven games.

Sabres fans who watched the game yesterday pretty much knew how the game would end after the first period. The Islanders held a 2-0 lead after one period after goals from Noah Dobson and Matt Martin put Buffalo in an early hole.

There was a glimmer of hope for the Sabres early in the second period as Taylor Hall scored his first goal since the season opener to cut the Islanders’ lead in half. But that minimal amount of hope did not last very long as Anthony Beauvillier netted a goal at the end of the second to regain New York’s two-goal lead.

The third period did not amount to anything for Buffalo as they gave up a quick goal to Jordan Eberle. The Sabres would add a goal by Rasmus Ristolainen midway through the period, but that was it for their goal scoring. Matt Martin added his second goal of the game to make it 5-2, which was the final score.

A fascinating stat I found from the game last night was that both goalies had the same save percentage. Both Jonas Johansson and Ilya Sorokin had a .889 SV% last night. The difference, of course, being that the Sabres got outshot 45-18. They did absolutely nothing to help their young goalie.

After the game, Ralph Krueger noted that Rasmus Ristolainen is still regaining his conditioning after his battle with COVID-19, as he was bedridden for two weeks. But instead of giving him less ice time during games, Krueger has had him out there for about as much as anyone else since Risto has come back.

Next. Cozens brings some much needed “fight” to this team. dark

You would think it would be an easy decision to limit a player that may not be all the way back yet, but Krueger does not seem to realize this. The Sabres defense has been awful all season, and without Jake McCabe, it doesn’t look like it will get much better. But playing a player that is not ready to return to a full workload, even if it is one of your best defenders, clearly is not the best decision.

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