Sabres demand more from themselves after loss to Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Friday’s game at Canada Life Centre was a story of quantity versus quality, in terms of offensive chances. The Buffalo Sabres got the former but surrendered the latter, outshooting the Winnipeg Jets 35-23 in a 4-1 loss.

Buffalo has scored three total goals, including just one at even strength, in an 0-2-0 start to its crucial six-game road trip.

“When you’re not feeling it on offense, you’ve got to work harder,” said Jason Zucker, who scored the Sabres’ only goal. “You’ve got to get around the net. You’ve got to get pucks there. You’ve got to be willing to go to the dirty areas and be willing to just fight for one to go off your ass, go off something, get in the net. And I don’t think we have enough of that.”

In Monday’s home win over Winnipeg, the Sabres had plenty of open ice and took full advantage with five goals. But Friday was an entirely different story; despite dominating puck possession for much of the night, Buffalo only really tested Jets goaltender Eric Comrie with a few top-notch scoring chances.

A couple notable ones, with Comrie down and out of his net, would’ve tied it 2-2 in the second period, but the Sabres couldn’t capitalize on those loose pucks.

“Some of those opportunities in the second period where we had loose pucks right around their net – twice, I thought we got outbattled on an opportunity to put a puck in an empty net,” coach Lindy Ruff said.

Those plays were the outliers in a quiet night offensively, the Sabres felt, and Ruff repeated an observation from previous losses this season.

“I thought we deferred to some cute plays tonight,” he said. “Even late in the third period, we were right in the slot, and we passed off some plays.

“But we handed them two goals at the same time. I mean, we gave them a 2-on-0, we gave them a penalty shot. They didn’t give us those opportunities.”

The 2-on-0 came early in the second period with the game tied 1-1. Forward Alex Tuch attempted a pass to Josh Doan at the middle of the offensive blue line, but Cole Koepke broke it up and Tanner Pearson sped off for a breakaway goal – the eventual game winner.

“It’s a whole different game if I don’t turn that puck over on the blue line,” Tuch said, “so I put a lot of this game on myself, and I need to be better. Just can’t allow things like that. Can’t have stuff like that creep into my game; I know better."

The penalty shot didn’t end up hurting the Sabres, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen covered his five-hole to deny Jets captain Adam Lowry and keep Buffalo within a goal. Koepke added an insurance tally later in the second, though, and Gabriel Vilardi buried an empty netter in the final minute of regulation.

Parts of the Sabres’ game were strong, such as another power-play goal, a productive night for the fourth line and some good physicality. Now 2-8-2 on the road with four games remaining on this trip, however, they know they can’t wait any longer to start collecting points away from KeyBank Center.

“We’re not here for moral victories,” Zucker said. “We didn’t do enough. We didn’t do enough to win. We’ve got to be better.”

Here’s more from the loss.

Another PPG for Zucker

Zucker stuck with a rebound to score a power-play goal for the third straight game – exactly the type of “dirty” goal he said the Sabres need more of. His five power-play goals lead the team, and on a per-60-minute basis, he’s been one of the most effective power-play goalscorers in the NHL.

The goal came 14:44 into the first period, and the Sabres didn’t get another man advantage for the rest of the night. Buffalo’s top unit finally has some consistency with its personnel and is beginning to produce; now, it needs all the opportunities it can get.

“If you’re skating well, you’re putting their defense on their heels, you’re typically going to draw more penalties,” Zucker said. “I don’t think we were skating enough. I don’t think we put them on their heels enough. I don’t think we made them defend hard enough. Made it an easier game for them.”

New lines coming?

The Sabres’ lines have been mostly unchanged since the recent returns of Zach Benson and Josh Norris, but these current offensive struggles may force some adjustments.

“It might be just time to shake up – a big shakeup of the lines and try to get something going,” Ruff said.

Up next

The Sabres continue on to Calgary and play the Flames on Monday at 9 p.m. EST. MSG’s pregame coverage begins at 8:30 p.m.

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for full game, practice and feature coverage during the road trip.