3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 loss to the Dallas Stars

The Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle as they lost their fourth straight game, this time with a final score of 2-0 against the Dallas Stars. After giving up eight goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then losing in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks, their performance against the Stars was better but they are not in a position for moral victories right now.

On Saturday night, the Sabres were competitive and kept the game within reach almost the entire night. It was scoreless through the first period, and then in the second, Jamie Benn broke the tie with a goal, which was also his 1,000th career point.

In the third period, the Sabres were playing much better and controlling the pace. They kept it a one-score game and pulled Alex Lyon for the extra attacker. However, a costly penalty by Zach Benson ended any chance at a comeback as the Stars scored on the power play with under a minute left in regulation.

The Sabres are now 8-8-4 on the season and will continue their road trip on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Before looking ahead, these are a few takeaways from the game on Saturday night.

Sabres shutout for the second time this season by Dallas

The Sabres have failed to score a goal in a game only twice this season, and both times it has been against Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars. At the beginning of October, the Stars secured a 4-0 shutout win over the Sabres and have gone six straight periods without allowing a goal to Buffalo.

There is no question that the lack of goals is concerning but the Sabres are also just not generating enough scoring chances. Through the first two periods, the Sabres had a combined 13 scoring chances before registering 10 in the third period alone.

What is even more concerning is that they generated only 23 total scoring chances while having five power-play opportunities in this game. Oettinger had a great game, but the Buffalo Sabres also didn't make him work enough to get the shutout.

Alex Lyon plays well in second straight start

Alex Lyon got his second straight start since returning from his injury and once again had a solid performance. While the Sabres didn't get the win, the fact that they were in this game until the very end is a credit to Lyon.

The Sabres goalie finished with 28 saves on 30 shots and finished with a goals saved above expected of +1.87, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Last season, the Sabres were able to manage a three-goalie rotation because all three goalies were playing well. The question for Buffalo now is how they manage it with Lyon playing well while the other two goalies have struggled.

Zach Benson costs the Sabres a chance to tie it up

With how that game went, the Sabres were probably not going to win it but they might have been able to steal at least a point. Unfortunately, Zach Benson made a horrible mistake that ended any chance of them tying the game and sending it to overtime.

The penalty was with about 1:30 left in the game, and Oettinger was behind the net, trying to clear the puck out. As he was doing that, Benson came in behind him and just checked him. It is tough to know what Benson was thinking in this moment, and it was a completely avoidable penalty that he can't take at this time in the game.

Zach Benson has been one of the best players for the Buffalo Sabres to begin this season. However, this was a costly mistake that hurt the Buffalo Sabres' chances of coming back and tying it up.

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