Sabres unable to overcome early deficit at Carolina

The Buffalo Sabres couldn’t match the Carolina Hurricanes’ early energy or scoring in a 5-2 loss Thursday at Lenovo Center.

Carolina, which had been outscored a combined 10-3 in two road games out of the break, returned home and built a three-goal lead in the opening 10 minutes. Misplays, penalties and failed clearing attempts, among other errors, contributed to Buffalo’s issues in the early going.

“We didn’t compete at a high-enough level,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. “They knew that they had to turn the corner. They came guns a-blazing, and we didn’t answer.

“They beat us to pucks. We got to pucks and didn’t execute. A lot of pucks went off our stick and right to them. They were a lot stronger on the puck than we were.”

Carolina led 37-15 in shots on goal, 77-42 in shot attempts and 17-7 in high-danger scoring chances at all strengths, per Natural Stat Trick. Fifteen shots are a new season low for the Sabres.

Jordan Staal opened the scoring for Carolina 6:09 into the game. Alone in front of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s net, the Hurricanes’ captain redirected Jordan Martinook’s blind shot-pass in with his skate.

Less than two minutes later, a defensive-zone rim-around popped out to Mikko Rantanen, who fed Sebastian Aho for another Hurricanes goal. The 2-0 deficit prompted Ruff to pull Luukkonen and deploy backup James Reimer, who’d last played Feb. 4.

Reimer allowed a power-play goal to Rantanen on his first shot faced, but he proceeded to hold the door open for a Sabres comeback attempt. The former Hurricane made several key stops, including on an Eric Robinson breakaway early in the second period, and finished the relief appearance with 27 saves on 29 shots.

Alex Tuch scored a last-minute power-play goal, burying a wide-angle shot with Pyotr Kochetkov tied up outside the crease, but the Sabres were outshot 17-4 and trailed 3-1 through 20 minutes.

“We needed to at least match their energy and we weren’t able to do that from the start, and that was on us,” Tuch said.

Buffalo got two more man-advantage opportunities in the second period but neither yielded a shot on goal. Less than a minute after the latter power play ended, Taylor Hall restored Carolina’s three-goal lead.

“Our power play wasn’t near good enough – we actually gave them momentum,” Ruff said. “We know that [Carolina’s] the best penalty-killing team, and it’s all pressure. So if you don’t execute on your first play, you’re going to be chasing the puck around.”

“I thought we actually started really simple,” added Tuch. “We were rimming the puck in and trying to get it in on some of the power plays. Our entries just weren’t good enough, and we didn’t get enough opportunities. I think we missed some open shots as well.”

The Sabres went 1-for-3 on the power play Thursday and 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) in February.

Buffalo’s other goal came 1:15 into the third, when Ryan McLeod held the puck on a 2-on-1 before passing across to JJ Peterka for a one timer into an open net. The Sabres managed just six third-period shots, though, and after they pressured late with the extra attacker, Seth Jarvis deposited an empty netter to seal the deal.

“Just couldn’t really handle the pressure they gave us right away, and getting down 3-0 quick like that, it’s tough to battle back from,” said Dylan Cozens. “… We didn’t let them run away with the game, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get back and win, so that’s what really matters.”

Here’s more from the loss.

1. Centers Cozens and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, with no apparent history between one another, fought at the opening faceoff.

“It was his idea,” Cozens said. “He just asked me to go, and I just didn’t really want to say no.”

In a first-intermission interview with FanDuel Sports Network, Kotkaniemi said his goal was to energize the crowd for Carolina’s first home game since Feb. 8.

“I think if I did a better job in there, it might have got our guys going a bit more,” Cozens added. “But obviously they ended up getting up 3-0 quick, so in hindsight, I wish I didn’t fight.”

“We should have responded better as a team,” Tuch said of the tilt.

2. The Sabres were without Jason Zucker, who took a shot to the foot in Saturday’s win and missed Monday’s practice. He was in the lineup Tuesday but skated just 12:57 and “struggled a little bit with his skating,” Ruff said Wednesday.

Sam Lafferty entered the lineup in Zucker’s place for his first game since Feb. 8. He recorded two hits in 7:47 of ice time.

Ruff wouldn’t accept the absence of Zucker, third on the team with 18 goals this season, as an excuse for his team’s challenging night offensively.

“It isn’t about one guy,” Ruff said. “There was 18 guys on the ice … they were better than us.”

3. Zach Benson, whose tripping penalty 9:04 into the game led to Carolina’s third goal, didn’t get a shift for the remainder of the first period. He returned to the ice early in the second and skated 12:20 in the game.

“We talked about it before the game – discipline has to be good,” Ruff said. “We take an O-zone penalty that cost us a goal, got the building even more involved.”

The Hurricanes officially went 1-for-2 on the power play, but Staal’s opening goal came moments after their first man advantage had expired.

Up next

The Sabres face the Montreal Canadiens in a home-and-home set beginning Saturday night at KeyBank Center. Tickets are available here.

MSG coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ahead of puck drop at 7.