What stalled the Buffalo Sabres high-octane attack in Pittsburgh?

The Buffalo Sabres, despite losing 3-1 last night to the Pittsburgh Penguins, had plenty of opportunities to find twine late, but it didn’t happen. 

It is becoming official that the Buffalo Sabres, who at times boast the league’s top scoring attack, stagnate the second a few key players miss time with injuries or in Jeff Skinner’s case, suspensions. And captain Kyle Okposo had a few words of wisdom behind the obvious.

"“We just talked about stepping up before the game, and we have to be able to withstand injuries. It’s part of the league. It’s part of the NHL. It’s part of being a good team.” – Kyle Okposo, via Buffalo News."

I’ve gone on record in the past to say that the Sabres are a good hockey team. Good hockey teams lead 32-team leagues in scoring. They also embark on several hot streaks like a 7-3-0 start to the season. But they are a bad hockey team the second a couple of top four defensemen and a top scorer miss time.

Now let’s not sugarcoat the absences of Ilya Lyubushkin, Henri Jokiharju, and Jeff Skinner. There is no way the Sabres are going to be as good with Casey Fitzgerald (despite nearly logging his first goal last night) and Kale Clague in the lineup. They are also not going to be good with Jacob Bryson on the second pairing, especially with his (-15) on the plus-minus so far.

As Okposo said, the Sabres need to find a way to withstand injuries. And until Don Granato and company figure it out, they will have games like we saw against the Penguins. Games where the high-octane attack fizzles out and scores nothing for the game’s first 50 minutes.

The Buffalo Sabres high-octane attack stalled last night

Late in the third period, the Blue and Gold found themselves down 2-1. And although they were down by a goal, you almost felt the tide shifting. The league’s oldest team in the Penguins were finding it tough to keep up with the league’s youngest in the Sabres, something I foresaw in my prediction.

Then they reverted back into the Sabres of November (and the Sabres of earlier in the evening), passing on shots, failing to crash the net, and letting the clock work against them. In my prediction article, I stated if the Sabres keep this game close through two periods, (Translation: A two-goal game or less) then they were going to have a chance to win this one outright.

They had that chance and they blew it. The Sabres were the better team in that third period, and you wonder that if Skinner were in the lineup, would we have at least seen an OTL? Would they have gotten things going earlier, as opposed to failing to land a shot on goal until the 7:17 mark of the first?

Clearly, Skinner’s absence, and any of the Thompson line’s absences, should they occur later this year, will stall the Sabres until someone steps up. Perhaps that someone can be Peyton Krebs, who has come on strong over the past two weeks. Maybe Victor Olofsson, who is known for his hot streaks as much as he is for his cold streaks.

Injuries and suspensions are unfortunate and inevitable. But they are a product of playing in the NHL. For the young Buffalo Sabres, it presents a challenge, and an opportunity, for someone to step up and keep the high-octane game rolling.

We saw the same thing happen in November. Injuries to key players, mainly defensemen, and the Blue and Gold panicked in the offensive zone. They took unnecessary shots, rushed plays, and became experts at turning over and losing control of the puck.

Let’s hope that this time around, they will remedy the situation. Until then, the Sabres perpetual goal-scoring approach may find itself in a trough. What’s stalling them? Okposo implied it: The inability to withstand injuries (or suspensions) to key players. 

Article Source: Observations: Sabres earn opportunities, fail to capitalize in 3-1 loss to Penguins by Lance Lysowski