Despite a 2-0 deficit, the Sabres went into the second intermission holding a 17-15 advantage in even-strength scoring chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. They opened the third period with a full power play, their fourth of the night.
The Sabres went 0-for-4 on those power plays, tallying seven shots on goalie Corey Crawford. They are 0-for-18 with the extra man over their last seven games.
"It's been struggling," Eichel said. "It seems like we're one and done. We're not getting puck retrievals, not making plays, and obviously it's been failing us."
Forward Tage Thompson, making his season debut in place of an injured Kyle Okposo, left for the dressing room with an apparent injury after completing his last shift with 2:20 remaining. He tallied two shot attempts in 6:59.
In addition to Okposo, who is day-to-day, recent injuries to the Sabres' forward group include Vladimir Sobotka (out four to six weeks), Marcus Johansson (day-to-day), and Johan Larsson (day-to-day). Thompson was the third recall in the past week, following Curtis Lazar and Rasmus Asplund.
"It's good for us to see what our depth is like," Krueger said. "Those are four of our veteran players out of the lineup. I thought we came in and put up a pretty good fight here early on. Again, very disappointed with the end storyline, but managing injuries is part of what we need to do in the NHL and it's also an opportunity to get to know players from Rochester and to see where our depth is at."
Read the full recap here.
