Alex Lyon stole a point for the Buffalo Sabres in Tuesday night's 2-1 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth, but the team's overall performance was a red flag playing out in real time. Hopefully general manager Kevyn Adams was paying attention.
Utah dominated the game — the expected goals were 3.7 to 1.8 in the Mammoth's favor, according to MoneyPuck — as the Sabres' injury-riddled forward group struggled mightily to generate offense.
Perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise. Jordan Greenway and Jack Quinn were skating on the first line. Mason Geertsen was in the lineup. And Tage Thompson continues to play at a level well below his typical All-Star standard.
In March, Adams discussed the 13-game losing streak that destroyed Buffalo's 2024-25 season. He lamented not acting sooner on the warning signs..
"If I had to do it over again, I may have shook something up by making a trade," Adams said. "I maybe should've shook something up by bringing a couple players up from Rochester. Maybe that would've been just something to change the dynamic of our group."
Now it's time for the sixth-year GM to heed his own advice by working the NHL trade market in search of an offensively gifted forward who can provide a much-needed spark.
In the meantime, let's dive into the latest edition of our Sabres player grades series, as Lyon continues to stand out from the crowd in Buffalo.
Alex Lyon, Noah Ostlund receive high marks for Buffalo Sabres' Nov. 4 overtime loss to JJ Peterka and the Utah Mammoth
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Alex Lyon | 9 |
Noah Ostlund | 8.5 |
Isak Rosen | 8 |
Josh Dunne | 5.5 |
Josh Doan | 5.5 |
Alex Tuch | 5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 5 |
Bowen Byram | 4 |
Ryan McLeod | 4 |
Beck Malenstyn | 3.5 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 3.5 |
Michael Kesselring | 3 |
Conor Timmins | 3 |
Jack Quinn | 2.5 |
Owen Power | 2 |
Jordan Greenway | 2 |
Peyton Krebs | 1.5 |
Tage Thompson | 1.5 |
Mason Geertsen | 1 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Alex Lyon
The Sabres had no business getting a point out of Tuesday's game. They were on their heels for a vast majority of regulation, and their overtime woes also continued, but Lyon was once again the best version of himself with 33 saves on 35 shots (.943 save percentage).
If you said at the beginning of training camp that one of Buffalo's goalies would emerge as a highly dependable starter with a .915 SV% through his first 10 outings, most fans would have expected the Blue and Gold to find themselves in a great spot.
That's not really the case, though. The Sabres are a modest 5-4-4 despite Lyon's terrific play, which translates to just one point above last place in the incredibly muddled Eastern Conference. For the most part, they've wasted the best goaltending they'll probably get all season.
It brings us back to the main point: Buffalo needs more offense. It ranks 21st in the NHL at 2.8 goals scored per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. Yes, injuries are a factor, but even at baseline the club needs to find more scoring potential.
Sabres quick hits
- Noah Ostlund and Isak Rosen were Buffalo's most effective forwards all night, which is a great sign for their development but a troublesome one for the Sabres as a whole.
- What was Jack Quinn doing in overtime? Remarkably bad defensive-zone coverage.
- It was a quiet night for JJ Peterka in his return to Buffalo. There was a smattering of boos but it wasn't overly enthusiastic.
- Bowen Byram remains far too quiet when it comes to driving offense.
- Rasmus Dahlin hasn't made this small of an impact over such an extended stretch since the 2020-21 season.
- The ineffectiveness of Jordan Greenway and Peyton Krebs is always exposed when they're asked to move up the lineup.
- Tage Thompson's Team USA Olympic dream will fade away if he doesn't start taking over games.
- The Sabres return to action Thursday night (7 p.m. ET) when they welcome the St. Louis Blues to the KeyBank Center. A four-game road trip follows.