The Buffalo Sabres’ special teams were a problem from the start in Thursday’s season-opening 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Buffalo couldn’t cash in on the power play, going 0-for-4 and coming up empty even on a full two-minute five-on-three. That was a frustrating continuation of an issue that lingered last season, when the Sabres finished 21st in the NHL on the man advantage despite having Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson on the roster.
After the game, Lindy Ruff pointed to the missed chances and the way Buffalo handled them.
“We had our opportunities. I mean,.... just after the one expired, (Konsta) Heleinus scored, but (we had) a big opportunity with the five-on-three that we missed an opportunity," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game.
" I thought some of the puck decisions, five-on-four, we did have a couple good looks. Five- on- three, there were a couple times that I just thought, we deferred to the play that wasn't there.
I thought our whole game, we tried to be a little bit too fancy."
The penalty kill didn’t hold up either. Columbus scored twice on three power-play chances, with Ruff saying some of the short-handed breakdowns came while new personnel was being used on those units.
Now Buffalo turns quickly to Saturday’s home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago has opened with back-to-back lopsided losses to Vegas and Utah, has been without Connor Bedard, and has allowed 11 goals while scoring only twice.
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Sabres Player Grades Are Back And So Are The Same Debates
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After the opener, Jack Quinn set the pace with the teams top mark, while Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund were right behind him as the early grades offered a snapshot of a roster still trying to define itself. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonens number, though, is the one that tends to linger with Sabres readers, because every grading cycle around this club eventually circles back to the same question in the crease. [Read more 🡒]