The Buffalo Sabres could not find an edge against the Dallas Stars, getting blanked 4-0 on home ice Thursday night. This could be considered the worst loss of the young season, and certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.
Usually, we take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the game. There were some losers in this contest that did not live up to the expectations placed upon them but, in all honesty, there is not really a winner to be placed for the Sabres in this game other than the fact that they won a majority of the counting stats. They had more shots, 26-18, and more pressure with a Corsi For percentage of 62.4. But it wasn't a strong showing individually.
Loser: Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen
If there was ever a game to want back as a goaltender, Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen certainly wants it after this loss. Dallas was not pressuring much in this game, with a measly 18 shots on goal.
He stopped 14 shots, allowed four goals, and could not keep his composure for his team to maintain some confidence. Having his team lose a ton of faceoffs in front of him is not a good sign, but the Stars also lost the turnover battle, 22-18.
UPL has been shaky to start this season, falling to 1-2-0 on the season with a 4.02 goals against average. He has to get it together soon, or things can start to get dire. It is still very early yet, with 80 games left to play, but the Sabres' fanbase was expecting more from No. 1.
Loser: Faceoffs
The Sabres as a team were 23 of 61 from the faceoff dot, which is an abysmal 37.7%. You cannot win hockey games like that, especially when this has been a bit of a stronger area for them this season. Before this shutout loss against the Stars, they were hovering at 50% on the draw.
Noah Ostlund was the biggest weakness in this game. In nine draws, he lost every single one of them. His season numbers now read at 35% in faceoffs.
Loser: Special teams
The Sabres have yet to get a tally with the man-advantage. At 0-for-13, this has started to become a unnescary trend, and one that head coach Lindy Ruff must quickly figure out. Not only the power play, but also the penalty kill, as this loss against Dallas marked the third time in four games an opposing team scored on at least one power play opportunity.
Having faults in the special teams in the early going could lead to long-term issues. Last season, the Sabres had their troubles on the power play as the 20th-best team in the NHL in the regular season, but were the fourth best in killing off penalties. This short sample has the Sabres as the last team in the NHL to not score a goal on the PP, and they are the fifth-worst at killing off penalties at just 63.6%.
This stark difference from last season to this one has been a deciding factor, and the Sabres need to tighten things up. Dallas is a great team, but this should have been a win.
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