Sabres look to take lessons from Wednesday's loss

Phil Housley was vocal in expressing his frustrations with the way his team played in a 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night, a performance he deemed "unacceptable." He continued to voice his disapproval when the Buffalo Sabres returned to practice on Thursday.
The Sabres had a short but intense practice session, and at one point Housley had to stop them to demand better execution.
"I just thought that we weren't doing what I told them to do, which was a simple execution play of just attacking with wide speed and a middle lane drive," Housley said. "So I just tried to get their attention. The execution after that point was good."

Jason Pominville said he hadn't watched Housley's press conference with the media on Wednesday but noted that it likely resembled the coach's comments to the team after the loss. The message continued in the team's film session on Thursday morning.
"When we reviewed the game, it was very quiet in the room," Housley said. "So, to me, I hope that they're angry, I hope they're upset. Now we have to get ready for tomorrow and what we can control. We have to learn from that, though. Sometimes you take three steps forward and you take one, two steps back."

The Sabres have lost their last two games, but the varying responses to those losses were telling. After falling 4-0 to Nashville on Monday, the team was able to draw some positives from the way they competed against the NHL's top team. They outshot the Predators in that game, 35-32.
It was a stark contrast to their reaction to the loss against Arizona, a team they trailed by one point at the bottom of the standings. The difference, Pominville said, was their effort.
"It's unacceptable that we have those types of efforts," Pominville said. "There's one thing you can control, is your effort. Yeah, there's mistakes that will be made and turnovers and stuff like that, but as long as you bring the effort on a nightly basis you'll get the respect from the guys in the room."
"I think you look at the body of work the last 20 games, we've moved in the right direction," Housley added. "But it reminds us that we have to come prepared to play, whether you're playing the best team in the league or one of the lower teams in this league.
"It's tough to win in this league and you have to have the same mindset, you can't take anything for granted. I thought we didn't take what it was going to take to win in yesterday's game."

The Sabres have 11 wins at home this season with three games remaining at KeyBank Center. Jack Eichel could only empathize with fans who have been critical of their performance.
"I think they have a reason to be negative," he said. "What have we really put on the ice as a product for them this year? We don't score goals. We really haven't made them coming to the game worthwhile. Can you blame them? No, you can't. This is the third year that I've been here, and we haven't put a steady product on the ice for them, and it's frustrating for us because they've been so loyal.
"They've continued to come here, continued to support the team and continued to be positive. I think that's probably the hardest part."

Medical report

Zemgus Girgensons returned to practice after missing the past two games with an injury and expects to be ready to play in Friday's game against Montreal. Girgensons practiced on a line with Eichel and Pominville.
Chad Johnson was absent from practice after taking a shot off the mask on Wednesday, forcing him to leave the game in the second period. Housley said that Johnson has not been diagnosed with a concussion and is day-to-day. Linus Ullmark will start in net Friday while Robin Lehner will dress as his backup.

Lines at practice

20 Scott Wilson - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 23 Sam Reinhart
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 15 Jack Eichel - 29 Jason Pominville
95 Justin Bailey - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 13 Nicholas Baptiste
17 Jordan Nolan - 22 Johan Larsson - 21 Kyle Okposo
67 Benoit Pouliot - 25 Seth Griffith
45 Brendan Guhle - 8 Casey Nelson
4 Josh Gorges - 93 Victor Antipin
82 Nathan Beaulieu - 41 Justin Falk
40 Robin Lehner
35 Linus Ullmark