Buffalo Sabres: Heartbreaking losses are signs of progress
The Buffalo Sabres have squandered two third period leads against the Tampa Bay Lightning this season. But it’s not all doom and gloom.
Confession time: The Buffalo Bills are my second favorite NFL team, and my favorite AFC team. My top team is and always will be the Arizona Cardinals. And I’m not going to lie, the Cards heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday made me half-sick. But the Sabres heartbreaking loss just over 24 hours later did not.
Why? One team is building, and the other has the talent to make a playoff push, despite their poor record. The Sabres are 9-12-1 and one of the league’s youngest teams. The Cardinals? 4-8, but one of the league’s more experienced teams.
One team should find themselves beyond heartbreakers. The Sabres, on the other hand, are showing they can at least take leads against some of the league’s best teams and make things interesting.
Buffalo Sabres show progress, despite the heartbreaker
Losing after holding a two-goal lead with five minutes to go is never fun. But for a young team like the Sabres, it’s a learning experience and a sign of progress. Despite the frustration, it shows that this team isn’t hopeless like they once were against the Lightning.
That’s twice now this season that they’ve made a team that won three straight Conference Championships work for their win. While it’d be great to see the Sabres hold those leads and boast a 11-11-0 record, it’s also good to see that the Lightning aren’t blowing them out, which occurred twice last season.
In October 2021, the Sabres seemed to have exorcised their Tampa Bay demons in a 5-1 win, only for the Lightning to outscore them 11-1 over their last two meetings. This season has been a different story, with the Lightning again putting up 11 goals on the Sabres, but the Blue and Gold have turned around and scored eight of their own.
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And they were the better team for 55 minutes last night. The next step in The Adams and Granato Plan? Find ways to hold onto leads. When they figure that out, you will see the Sabres start winning these kinds of games.
Article Source: Mike Harrington: Hard lessons continue for Sabres in frustrating thriller vs. Lightning by Mike Harrington
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