The Buffalo Sabres couldn’t capitalize in loss to Oilers
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres did just about everything right in lieu of being without two defensemen and a forward. They just couldn’t capitalize.
The Buffalo Sabres went into tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers without Mattias Samuelsson, Tyson Jost, and newcomer Riley Stillman. Yet somehow, they hung with one of the NHL’s most dangerous high-scoring teams and nearly pulled off the upset. Buffalo never led, but outstanding defense and goaltending throughout most of the contest kept the game close, giving the Sabres, a team fighting for its playoff lives, a chance to win it late.
Unfortunately, they just couldn’t find the net despite getting 39 shots on net on Edmonton goaltender, Stuart Skinner. While Buffalo toiled through a pair of frustrating losses last week against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins, losses like these, where at times the Sabres outplayed the Oilers, are often the most debilitating.
Buffalo Sabres suffer a frustrating loss to Edmonton
Shortly after Connor McDavid opened the scoring, Buffalo answered shortly thereafter on the power play, thanks to Tage Thompson finding Jeff Skinner to tie the game at one. In the second period, Buffalo didn’t score, but for most of the period, their defense held strong, stopping Edmonton’s high-octane attack time and again until the 18:45 mark when Derek Ryan got one through for the Oilers.
Just 41 seconds into the third period, Dylan Cozens, who’d been getting awesome looks all night, finally found twine to tie the game. But once again, Connor McDavid had other ideas and drilled one home about two-and-a-half minutes later, icing the game for the Oilers.
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Tonight’s loss ups the ante for Buffalo, as they’ll travel to New York to face the Islanders in a game that will have playoff implications. The Sabres margin of error is growing thinner as we roll further into March, and a road win against New York will at least help lighten the ever-increasing weight each member of the Sabres is wearing on their shoulders.
(Statistics provided by NHL.com)