3 ironic positives in Buffalo Sabres loss to the Predators

Over the past three games, opponents have outscored the Buffalo Sabres 19-5. But ironically enough, some positives came out of the loss to Nashville. 

This has easily been the worst stretch of the season for the Buffalo Sabres. And it’s gone like this: puck drop – allow breakaways and easy opportunities for opponents – allow five-plus goals – repeat.

But ironically enough, in the Blue and Gold’s loss to the Nashville Predators, there were actually a few positives amidst the debacle. Sure, the Sabres allowed a slew of easy goals (again). Yeah, they allowed breakaways and multiple opportunities from the slot (again). And yeah, they allowed five or more goals for the third straight game.

So what were these positives, exactly? Let’s check them out.

Three positives for the Buffalo Sabres in loss to Nashville

1 – Special teams showed up

Three cheers for the Buffalo Sabres special teams! Despite the lopsided 7-3 debacle, the PK unit actually finished the night 3 for 3. When was the last time the unit accomplished that?

Moreover, the power play also got one of those three goals on the board by none other than Tage Thompson, who broke his eight-game streak without a goal. While I botched my bold prediction for the final score on this one, it was good to see me get something at least partially right.

2 – Sabres stayed physical

Okay, 19 hits isn’t going to turn heads, but lately, Buffalo’s been turning up the volume as far as physicality goes. And we saw it tonight against the Predators, especially from Tage Thompson, Riley Stillman, and Peyton Krebs, who combined for 12 of those 19 hits – with a fight from Tage.

Hey, despite what’s been nothing short of embarrassing performances lately, at least these guys are starting to hit back. That within itself deserves recognition from what’s been one of the NHL’s least physical teams this year, and the Sabres at least kept the physicality turned up tonight.

3 – Jeff Skinner scored his 30th goal

For the first time in decades, the Buffalo Sabres have three scorers hit the 30-goal mark thanks to Jeff Skinner sinking his 30th of the season. Sure, it was, overall, a meaningless goal, but after a season of highs and ultra-lows, it was still a good stat to see. Just wish it was a game-winner as opposed to making the score look at least somewhat respectable.

Overall, we had another terrible performance from a team that has completely thrown away everything they had built earlier in the season. But at least there were, few and far in between as they’ve been, a few positives that came out of this game.