Sabres unable to match Flames' desperation in 5-1 loss

Phil Housley emphasized the importance of his team showing up on time against a Calgary Flames team that came to Buffalo on Wednesday fighting for its playoff life. But when game time came, he said, it was clear from the start that the Sabres were unprepared to match their opponent's intensity.
The Flames scored twice in the first nine minutes and five times in the first two periods of an eventual 5-1 loss for the Sabres at KeyBank Center. The Sabres entered the night with seven wins in their last 13 games, including an emotional win over Toronto at home on Monday.
"That's just where we're at as a team right now, the consistency to get up for a team that's desperate," Housley said. "You look at games against Tampa, Boston, Toronto - they're easy to get up for. And Calgary comes in here, which is a desperate team, and we didn't match that desperation. That's top to bottom."

The Sabres were outshot 17-6 in the first period and fell behind 2-0 on a pair of exchanges between Sam Bennett and Mark Jankowski. Bennett opened the scoring 5:35 into the contest on a Jankowski feed from behind the goal line, while Jankowski caught a pass from Bennett and scored from the slot three minutes later.
Chad Johnson, who entered the game with a 6-2-0 record since winning in Calgary on Jan. 22, was chased after Mark Giordano (on a slap shot from the point) and Sean Monahan (on a one-time feed from Johnny Gaudreau) scored goals 1:01 apart in the second period.
Johnson allowed four goals on 22 shots in 24:01, but Housley defended his goaltender after the game. Bennett's goal was the result of lapsed coverage, Jankowski's came on a shot alone from the slot and Giordano's deflected in off Zemgus Girgensons.
"It was just that kind of night for me," Johnson said. "It happens, and you move on."
Robin Lehner stopped 18 of 19 shots in relief. Lehner managed to bring life to the building when he shoved Matthew Tkachuk to the ice late in the second period, but he was assessed a roughing penalty for the maneuver and Dougie Hamilton scored on the ensuing power play.
On the other end, the Sabres were unable to challenge an inexperienced goaltender in Calgary's David Rittich, who began the night with just 17 NHL games under his belt. Rittich held a shutout until Casey Nelson scored the second goal of his young career with 17.1 seconds remaining.

"We passed up a lot of opportunities, and it started right away," Housley said. "You could just see that we weren't ready. You get opportunities to get pucks to the net, things that we've done the past four games, and that's just where we're at."
In total, the Sabres were outshot 41-26.
Housley said the loss was especially difficult to swallow because the Sabres had appeared to have turned a corner as of late. The lack of consistency, he said, stems from a lack of individual preparation.
"This is the learning part of this team, is measuring your consistency game in and game out," he said. "You can say it was an off night, I disagree. We had a little too much cheat, not enough compete, losing puck battles all around and that's what's going to happen. That's the result we're going to get."
Johnson was the one player who arguably had the most reason to want a win over Calgary, his former team. But it wasn't the opponent, he said, that made for the most disappointing aspect of the night.
"You want to beat that team," he said. "I know where they're at and we know where they're at. But it doesn't matter. Probably the bigger thing is that it's on home ice. That's more important to me. I don't care who I'm playing at the end of the day. I wanted to have a good effort at home. I think we all wanted to."

Up next

The Sabres will conclude their back-to-back set on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 7 p.m. with the GMC Game Night Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30.
The team returns home on Saturday afternoon to host the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time at KeyBank Center. Kids Day ticket packages are available here. Puck drop is scheduled for 1 p.m.