Buffalo Sabres: No need to panic after Kraken rout

The Buffalo Sabres lost big to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, but there is no need to panic after what was a debacle of a contest. 

For a minute, I thought about writing about how the Buffalo Sabres allowed their opponents to log twice as many shots on goal (again), or were outmuscled (again), were stuck in their own zone for an eternity (again), or simply sleepwalked through at least one period (again). Then I thought to myself, this team has been traveling over the past nine days and lost two of their top four defensemen.

While I am a firm believer in the next man up mentality, the Sabres aren’t quite there just yet. Lawrence Pilut and Casey Fitzgerald are serviceable defensemen, but they are not Henri Jokiharju and Mattias Samuelsson. None of the above will do you wonders while the Sabres are in the offensive zone.

But when the latter two aren’t on the ice, you will miss them. And man, did the Sabres miss them on Tuesday night, the finale of a long, exhausting road trip.

Buffalo Sabres routed, but let’s not push the panic button

Tonight, the Sabres played in perhaps their worst game since they lost 6-1 to Edmonton in March 2022. But here is the difference: Not only did they beat the Edmonton Oilers this time around, they scored three straight wins before practically running out of fuel in Rain City. 

And that’s really all this one is chalked up to be. The Sabres ran out of fuel. Three of their defensemen were nicked up, as Ilya Lyubushkin missed a contest earlier in the road trip. This is, ultimately, one of those games you just shrug your shoulders and say, “Onto the next one.”

Losing big is one of the worst feelings in the world. But when you are a young team that spent nine days on the road and lost two of your top four defensemen, you aren’t going to win many games. The Sabres never had a chance in this one. We’re onto Montreal.