Buffalo Sabres lost the intensity battle in the third period vs. Calgary
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres stalled for most of the third period, and that’s why they are skating away with zero points following tonight’s loss to the Flames.
The Buffalo Sabres made it through the first two periods in a deadlock vs. the Calgary Flames with those fans who decided to show up for the game raring to watch a thrilling third period. And once again, we saw flashes of the Blue and Gold from last season, as the power play finally got one on the board with a goal from Tage Thompson, and the Cozens line generated some excellent opportunities.
It looked like the final frame was going to be an intense slugfest to ultimately determine the winner. Instead, one team came out ready to take control and win the game, and the Sabres were unfortunately the team that did not. Following JJ Peterka’s goal at the 3:14 mark of the third period, they basically went the rest of the way out of sync.
Buffalo Sabres struggle through an awful third period in loss to the Flames
Overall, the Sabres looked flat through most of the third, and once they pulled Devon Levi, they once again played like a group that forgot how to play solid offense. There’s no need to sit here and speculate what the problem was – dysfunctional is the best adjective you can use.
Then came the mental errors, and the most notable one came from Rasmus Dahlin, when Andrew Mangiapane baited him into a shoving match. While the Buffalo Sabres still had a man advantage, Dahlin’s gaffe forced them to go without their best quarterback on the man advantage. Had he skated away, the Blue and Gold may have had a better chance to tie the game.
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Then came the too many men on ice call with just over a minute left, which given how dysfunctional they looked with the net empty, sealed the Blue and Gold’s fate tonight. So far the Sabres have played in four games, and in all four contests, they have yet to play a full 60 minutes of solid hockey. Maybe things will change this Saturday, but it’s hard to get optimistic at the moment.