Buffalo Sabres lackluster offense shows up again in loss to Florida

The Buffalo Sabres once again moved like they had sand in their skates offensively and it cost them a spot in the standings in today’s loss. 

The Buffalo Sabres are struggling offensively, and in today’s loss to the Florida Panthers, they looked slow and out of sync. This is a stark contrast to what they showed off in their win against Nashville on Saturday night, and it should call for a further tweak in the offensive game plan.

It seemed like every time the Sabres had a good look, someone from the Panthers got a stick on the puck at the last possible second. Other times, Buffalo got the shot off in time, only for an opponent to throw a block.

And it ended with a 4-1 loss in a game that was never really competitive.. So how do the Sabres turn the tables? Honestly, one remark that jumped out at me during the broadcast was when they pitched the idea of perhaps using Tage Thompson as a decoy at times, something I thought was rather genius.

Tweak in game planning may take the Buffalo Sabres a long way

Throughout the last five games, opponents have keyed on Tage Thompson, and why wouldn’t they? One of the league’s best players, Tage’s performance this season has forced teams to game plan around him.

Lately, every time the Sabres tried looking his way, opponents would swarm him and use their sticks to disrupt the play. A good way to counter this is to find ways to make opponents believe the puck will go to Tage, only to dump the puck off somewhere else, either near the blue line, or the forecheck.

If the Sabres can execute such a game plan, not only will you see lanes open once again for Tage, but it will also allow a new dimension to emerge offensively. Sure, the Sabres must execute, but trying to force the puck Tage’s way, especially when they aren’t displaying the speed to match an opponent’s, isn’t working, so why keep trying it?

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