Buffalo's lackluster power play rears its ugly head in loss against Toronto

Last night, the Buffalo Sabres scored five unanswered goals after trailing 2-0 on their way to a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. They would be six points out coming into tonight's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It wouldn't be easy, but with a win and some help, the Sabres could've been four points back of the final wild-card spot.

After Devon Levi was in the net last night, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the start for Buffalo. Just about five minutes into the first period, John Tavares got the party started for Toronto as he went untouched and put the puck past Luukkonen, making it 1-0 Maple Leafs.

In the early moments of the second period, Nicholas Robertson made it 2-0 after a bad turnover from Connor Clifton at the Maple Leafs end of the ice. In the third period, Auston Matthews got his 60th goal of the season, extending Toronto's lead. After things got testy, the Maple Leafs beat Buffalo 3-0.

Postgame thoughts

Listen, it takes a lot for me to get furious with the Sabres. But after tonight's game, I was absolutely heated. There were a couple of reasons why. First, they could not solve Ilya Samsonov who was sensational tonight. Buffalo had so many glorious chances to score but Samsonov made some amazing saves.

You can't put this game on Luukkonen. He also made some nice saves to keep Buffalo in the game. However, the defense was not good. On the Tavares goal, there was no one around him and he was able to get a clean shot. For the second goal, a bad turnover from Clifton contributed to it.

Lastly, the Sabres power play was ATROCIOUS. Buffalo went 0/6 on the power play. Yes, you read that right. It's embarrassing a team with that much talent cannot convert with that many chances. It's been an issue all season but when your playoff chances are on life support, it's incredibly frustrating.

I talked about Don Granato and whether or not he should be fired. When it comes to Matt Ellis and the assistant coaches, they need to go.

Buffalo will take on the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night.