The Buffalo Sabres suffered a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. They were outshot 35-22 and were vastly outplayed for a majority of the contest aside from a four-minute stretch in the third period when they scored two of their three goals.
Yet, alternate captain Tage Thompson refused to ring any alarm bells as the Sabres lost for the sixth time in the past seven games to fall into last place in the Eastern Conference.
"Honestly, all game I thought we worked extremely hard," Thompson told reporters. "We play like that, we're gonna find ourselves on the right side of the game points-wise, winning those."
What game was the 2023 NHL All-Star watching? Carolina dominated the first 43 minutes of the game and, while Buffalo deserves credit for fighting back to get within one, it never seriously threatened to tie the contest before the Canes scored a pair of empty-netters to secure the win.
The Hurricanes won the all-situations expected goals battle 4.7-2.4 and they led to Corsi count 72-50, according to Natural Stat Trick. By every metric, they deserved the full two points on Saturday.
"I think you look at that game as a whole, obviously the loss sucks," Thompson said. "But I think you play that way as a group 82 games you're gonna find yourselves on the right side of things."
We'll agree to disagree.
For now, let's jump into the latest installment of our Sabres player grades series as the team's 2025-26 season once again appears on the brink of an early collapse.
A lot of failing marks from the Buffalo Sabres' Nov. 8 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Owen Power | 7 |
Alex Tuch | 6.5 |
Tage Thompson | 6 |
Jacob Bryson | 5.5 |
Jordan Greenway | 5.5 |
Tyson Kozak | 5 |
Josh Doan | 5 |
Michael Kesselring | 5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 4.5 |
Conor Timmins | 4.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 4 |
Jack Quinn | 4 |
Alex Lyon | 3.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 3 |
Isak Rosen | 3 |
Bowen Byram | 2 |
Noah Ostlund | 1.5 |
Josh Dunne | 1.5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 1 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Owen Power
Power must elevate his game as Rasmus Dahlin takes an indefinite leave of absence for family reasons. His first performance in the bigger role was encouraging, highlighted by a first-period goal that tied the game at one for Buffalo.
The Canadian defenseman hasn't lived up to expectations as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. So, some of the intense criticism he's received is warranted, especially related to his play in the defensive zone, but anybody using the bust label is misguided.
Power will receive more chances to drive offense and lead the power play while Dahlin is away. That should present his most expansive opportunity to showcase his offensive skill, and he was definitely more noticeable in that regard against the Canes.
If he continues to stand out, the Sabres should strongly consider a Power-Dahlin pair once the team's captain returns to the organization.
Sabres quick hits
- Alex Tuch has returned to his usual highly efficient ways after a rare stretch of poor play early in the campaign.
- Josh Doan has scored four goals on seven expected goals so far this season (via NST). The jury is still out on whether his finishing can improve after a similar story with the Utah Mammoth last season (seven goals on 12.6 expected goals).
- It's time to get Colten Ellis another start after back-to-back lackluster outings from Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
- Isak Rosen needs to add more strength to his frame to earn a full-time NHL role.
- The bottom of the Sabres lineup has collapsed amid the endless stream of injuries.
- Next up for Buffalo is a visit to the Delta Center on Wednesday night (9 p.m. ET) for a rematch with JJ Peterka and the Utah Mammoth, who won the first meeting 2-1 in overtime.