Coming into Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres were starting to feel good. Beating the defending Stanley Cup champions 5-2 will have that effect. Going into Pittsburgh and grabbing two points would do an awful lot toward undoing the 0-3 start to the season.
Instead, we were treated to one of the wildest games of the young season. The Sabres were exciting but inconsistent, dropping the game 6-5 in overtime. While it was nice getting a point, it feels like the Sabres definitely should have walked away with one more. Here are three things worth noting from the team’s disappointing 6-5 overtime loss.
The Offense Is Finally Waking Up
Putting up five more goals in the wake of a five-goal effort against the Panthers is nice. Given that this group managed a cumulative three goals in three games before that, it’s definitely something worth being happy about.
The Sabres dominated the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 10 but still lost, and there were flashes of that here. They controlled the game early, collapsed in the second, came back, then ultimately could not hold on. Tage Thompson has been one of the most noticeable Sabres so far and J.J. Peterka was outstanding offensively.
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There was a stretch where it felt like Pittsburgh’s backup was going to Superman them to a win – and that was probably a contributing factor. It would be nice if they could hit the net more, though. They currently lead the league in missed shots and that’s definitely not a stat you want to be at the top of the list for.
The Inconsistent Effort Is Still There
One of the things that jumped out about the Sabres a season ago was the inconsistency of their effort. They would have one great period, completely disappear the next, then struggle to stay in it. That’s basically what happened here.
The Sabres dominated the first period, getting out to an early 3-1 lead. It was all Penguins in the second period and the Sabres didn’t really start showing life until the middle of the third when it was 4-3 Pittsburgh.
It might sound like a cliché but there really needs to be a full 60-minute effort out of this team. They stopped skating in the second period and again at the end of regulation. The penalty to Thompson in overtime sealed it but just underscored how inconsistent the Sabres…
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