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Banged up Buffalo Sabres can’t hang with experienced teams

By Sion Fawkes

Dec 10, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) and center Tage Thompson (72) talk before a face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 10, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) and center Tage Thompson (72) talk before a face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tonight’s 3-1 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins feels like early-to-mid November all over again for the Buffalo Sabres. 

The Buffalo Sabres dropped their second straight game to the Pittsburgh Penguins and accumulated just one of four possible points on the back to back. And it goes to show us that when the Sabres are banged up and missing a player via suspension, things can go off the rails quick for the Blue and Gold.

But that’s just a product of being a young hockey team that was forced to compensate for Jeff Skinner’s suspension, plus for the injured Henri Jokiharju and Ilya Lyubushkin. Yeah, this feels eerily like early-to-mid November, and it also shows that if the Sabres want to go anywhere this year, they must stay healthy and disciplined on all fronts.

However, despite the setback, the Sabres did some things right tonight. For one, they performed better than expected in the faceoff column. Still a lot of room to improve, but as bad as they have been in winning faceoffs, taking 45% of them is at least a start.

They also matched the Penguins physicality, finishing 38 checks. And we also saw some brilliant moves from the youngsters, including J.J. Peterka’s back check to stop a breakaway, and Peyton Krebs’ tip-in from Casey Fitzgerald. But they just aren’t ready to win shorthanded yet against experienced teams like Pittsburgh.

Buffalo Sabres need to stay healthy to remain competitive

The Sabres have proven time and again that when healthy, they are a good hockey team. But when even a couple of their key players, not even star players, but solid contributors, go down with injuries (or suspensions), the train derails.

Related Story. How many Buffalo Sabres will score 20-plus goals. light

We saw it in November amidst an eight-game losing streak, and we are seeing it again with two main defensemen on injured reserve plus Skinner’s suspension. Overall, the Sabres need someone to step up and minimize the fallout, unless they plan on repeating that abysmal stretch they suffered through in November.

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