Buffalo Sabres show physicality, create turnovers in loss to Devils

The Buffalo Sabres may have lost 3-1 to the mighty New Jersey Devils, but they showed us a few things we haven’t seen much this season. 

This was a game where I didn’t expect the Buffalo Sabres to win. But I did expect them to hang with the New Jersey Devils and show some strides. And while they did not emulate their recent offensive performances that they showed against the Canadiens and the Blues, they did show up defensively.

Tonight, they got physical, logging 23 hits, with Ilya Lyubushkin leading the way with four. They had 18 blocks, where Mattias Samuelsson paced the team with five. And finally, they had 10 takeaways, where the always-aggressive Rasmus Dahlin led the group with four.

No, the defensive showing wasn’t perfect, as the Devils got one past goaltender Craig Anderson when they caught Henri Jokiharju out of position. But physicality was one trait this team has lacked most of the time, and they gave us some hope in that department tonight.

Buffalo Sabres were physical all night against New Jersey

This is what you often see from young teams. They will show you one version of themselves in one game, then a completely different version just a game or two later, but they rarely seem to get it together in all facets of the game.

Overall, losses are always tough to swallow. But they can be encouraging. And while it would have been great to see the Sabres drive a few more pucks into the back of the net, we can rest assured that perhaps they aren’t lacking in the physicality department as much as we thought.

Now, they need to find consistency in the physical facet of the game. With a healthy defensive rotation, you can expect this version of the Sabres as the season wears on. They just need to get the sticks going in their direction when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

(Statistics provided by NHL.com)

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