‘We have to have a push’ | Sabres can’t weather 3rd-period storm in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Isak Rosen scored his second and third career goals, but that was all the offense the Buffalo Sabres managed in a 5-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday at Delta Center.

The Mammoth scored five unanswered goals, including four in the third period, to hand the Sabres a third straight regulation loss. The Sabres, still missing several key players from their lineup, remain winless (0-4-2) on the road to start the season.

“With the manpower we’re down, you build that lead, you’ve got to defend better,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We didn’t defend well enough. We’re a better defending team than that.”

Colten Ellis made his second NHL appearance in net for Buffalo and showed no sign of rust despite his three-week layoff. Compared to his debut, in which he didn’t see a shot for the first 10 minutes, the 25-year-old was busy from the opening faceoff Wednesday.

And, for a while, Ellis stood strong against that persistent pressure in his end. His 12-save first period included excellent stops on a Clayton Keller one-timer, a backdoor bid for Dylan Guenther and a power-play blast from Logan Cooley. Utah generated six high-danger chances and 1.82 expected goals in that opening period, per Natural Stat Trick.

In the second, shortly after Rosen gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead, Nick DeSimone finally beat Ellis with a well-screened slap shot.

Buffalo survived the second period up 2-1, but Utah continued pushing to begin the third, and early snipes from JJ Peterka and Lawson Crouse gave the Mammoth their first lead of the night. Nick Schmaltz added an insurance goal midway through, Clayton Keller an empty netter in the final minute, and that was all.

“Not looking at any video or anything right now, I think the first two periods, especially, my reads were good,” Ellis said. “I was staying over pucks. I think the third period maybe got a little away from me for a short moment of time, and they made some good plays and capitalized.”

“He was unbelievable for us,” Alex Tuch said of Ellis, who finished with 32 saves on 36 shots. “He was amazing, and the goals that did go in are really good goals. … There’s just stops that he didn’t even have a chance on because we just had breakdowns and gave up really bad opportunities.”

Utah held a 14-3 edge in third-period shots, and just two of Buffalo’s came in the 16:38 following Crouse’s go-ahead tally.

“I thought their team played well in the third period to just shut us down and stay in front of us, not give us any odd-man rushes, and they were chipping pucks out, especially once they got the lead,” Tuch said. “They came out flying in the third period, and we should’ve expected that, matched their intensity a little bit more and not allowed them back in the game so easily.”

Added Rosen: “We have to have a push there.”

Here’s more from the loss.

Rosen line flashes chemistry

Buffalo took a 1-0 lead 5:33 into the game, on its first shot, thanks to a great play by Jack Quinn. He evaded a body check along the half wall, stickhandled toward the faceoff dot and found Rosen waiting at the back door.

Rosen struck again in the second period on a give-and-go with Noah Ostlund, one-timing his linemate’s cross-slot feed past Karel Vejmelka to double the Sabres’ lead. Quinn wasn’t credited with an assist, but his speedy zone entry played a key role in that goal, too.

The three linemates each recorded two shots on goal. Rosen and Ostlund’s chemistry makes sense, considering their success together in Rochester, and Quinn’s 200-foot effort complemented them nicely. With so many top forwards currently unavailable, the Sabres will continue leaning on those guys to generate offense.

“I think we’re finding each other pretty good out there,” Rosen said. “Yeah, it was nice to score two, but it doesn’t matter now.”

First line can’t get going

After third-period goals on Saturday from Tuch and Tage Thompson, Buffalo’s first line figured to enter this one with some momentum. But during those top wingers’ 12 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time together in Utah, the team generated just one shot on goal – neither coming from Tuch or Thompson.

“Our top line, we needed more out of them,” said Ruff, who was pleased with the Ostlund line’s play, as well as the group of Tyson Kozak, Jordan Greenway and Josh Doan.

Kozak won 16 of his 24 faceoffs – an issue for the Sabres this season – and earned a first-line promotion in Ryan McLeod's place during the third period. But Tuch and Thompson, regardless of their center, know they can’t afford to have down nights like Wednesday’s.

“It’s unacceptable,” Tuch said. “We’ve got to play with a little bit more pace, a lot more support. A lot more confidence, too. We know that we can make plays; we just have to bear down and make them.”

Up next

The Sabres are right back at it Thursday night as they visit the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.

Puck drop is once again scheduled for 9 p.m. EST, with MSG's pregame coverage beginning at 8:30.