Buffalo Sabres: Connor Clifton figured something out in loss to Devils
It has been a rough season for Buffalo Sabres blueliner Connor Clifton, but in last night’s loss to New Jersey, he did one thing right.
Connor Clifton has been arguably the worst player on the Buffalo Sabres, something that dates back to the preseason. In his 19 games, Clifton has been as-advertised in the physicality department with 48 hits, even if his minus-9 rating shows us he hasn’t figured out how to play solid hockey.
But last night, amidst a minus-4 rating, Clifton had a moment when he figured something out during the Sabres blowout loss to the New Jersey Devils. And it was reflected in his postgame comments. Check out what he said below and see if you can figure out what he just realized.
“I think it’s on the players. We just weren’t very good tonight. Obviously gotta watch (the video). It’s gonna be ugly. But we’re gonna figure it out. We’re 21 games in, right, so time is of the essence.”
Source: Sabres’ brutal start spoils NHL debuts of Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen in 7-2 loss by Lance Lysowski, Buffalo News
Buffalo Sabres defenseman gets it right and the team must follow suit
That last sentence Clifton spoke in the above comment is something every single member of the Sabres locker room should echo. It reverts right back to the need for a major sense of urgency for the Blue and Gold, or else they will fall short of the playoffs again. And in doing so, they will look back to their struggles earlier in the season when they seemingly lacked that sense of urgency to get it together.
It’s clear that Clifton has it figured out in terms of imperativeness, but he also needs to start performing better and let his actions reflect what he said. Clifton should get a healthy scratch or two just to watch from the press box, since his two-game suspension earlier in the year clearly wasn’t enough time away from the ice for him to figure out what he needs to work on.
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At 5-on-5, the Buffalo Sabres on-ice save percentage is 85.5 with Clifton in the game, and things are even worse at even strength. Often, he’s been caught out of position, and even last night, Clifton let yet another puck bounce off of him and into the net. That said, it’s great to see he has at least something figured out. Now he needs to act on it.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)