It looked like maybe the Buffalo Sabres were putting themselves in a position to win today early on. But, as Sabres fans have seen far too often this season, Buffalo ended up taking another loss after the Islanders dismantled them. The Sabres found the back of the net only twice as they lost by a score of 5-2 once again.
The Sabres came out of the gate hot as Jacob Bryson scored his first career NHL goal just 33 seconds into the first period. Buffalo continued strong throughout the rest of the first period and actually looked like a competent hockey team for 20 minutes as they carried a 1-0 lead after the first period.
But that competent look did not carry over through the rest of the game. The Islanders scored four unanswered goals in the second period, including a goal of the year candidate from Mathew Barzal, who went between the legs to beat Carter Hutton. The Sabres went from having a one-goal lead to being down two goals in around five minutes. New York added one more goal late in the third to have a three-goal buffer going into the final period.
Sam Reinhart scored his ninth goal of the year just under a minute into the third period. Any momentum that the Sabres could have gathered from that was immediately shut down as the Islanders added their fifth goal of the game just over a minute after Reinhart scored. Buffalo could not find the back of the net for the rest of the period, and they fell by the score of 5-2 for the second straight game.
The Sabres have now dropped six consecutive games, and Hutton has lost seven straight starts. Buffalo also got outshot once again, as they gave up 29 shots and only had 22. The Sabres didn’t seem to have much extra motivation after GM Kevyn Adams called the entire organization out yesterday for not performing well enough. But if there are no significant changes, there is no reason to expect to see anything different.