Sabres failing to get pucks into the net, take advantage of power plays

The Buffalo Sabres once again had a rough time finishing sequences in their most recent loss, this time to the Montreal Canadiens.

Just like the other night vs. the Calgary Flames, the Buffalo Sabres found themselves on the wrong end of a frustrating loss. Through two periods, the Blue and Gold scored just once, despite getting pucks to the net 30 times. By contrast, the Montreal Canadiens logged just 13 shots in the first two frames, and 14 (at the time of this writing) in the third.

There is no way a team that had such a high-octane approach last season should be scoring one measly goal, and zero goals at 5-on-5, against a rebuilding team like Montreal. Sure, it’s great to see the Sabres generating chances, that’s a point we should all make, but when will they find twine?

When is Alex Tuch going to step up and make something happen? Tage Thompson is at least giving it everything he has, logging another five shots on goal tonight and taking a zero in the plus-minus, while Jeff Skinner scored yet again.

Buffalo Sabres need to find their offense, especially amidst sound defense

Even more frustrating, the Sabres defense didn’t play a bad game like they did vs. Calgary. No, they didn’t quite keep up with Montreal’s energy and “nothing to lose” mentality as the third period wore on, but they were making Eric Comrie’s life easy in those first two frames.

The team did virtually everything right, getting into lanes, and poking the puck just enough to be disruptive. But overall, they allowed a pair of goals (including a power play goal) late, and now they’re flying out to Ottawa with an ‘L’ and with most likely Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen making his season debut – against a high-octane team.

We can’t say the Sabres didn’t give themselves opportunities, and two years ago, we would have praised that, even if they only scored one goal. But with higher expectations this season, generating opportunities offensively without finishing, especially when you only allow three goals, is not enough.

(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)