The Buffalo Sabres have run into a problem that goes beyond one ugly night. A 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Saturday came on the heels of the blowout against the Dallas Stars, and that back-to-back stretch has exposed more than one crack.
The Sabres actually struck first, but that brief edge didn’t last. Utah took over from there and handed Buffalo another lopsided defeat, leaving the home side with a second straight game that never really felt in doubt once it turned.
The biggest issue was the way Buffalo defended as a group. There was too much puck watching, too much space, and too many plays that forced Colten Ellis into impossible recoveries.
The only goal Ellis really had a realistic shot at stopping was the fourth one, scored by John Marino. The others came off passes across the crease, the kind of chances that leave a goalie scrambling from post to post with little chance to reset.
The Sabres’ goaltending remains part of the conversation, but this game wasn’t on Ellis alone. Buffalo’s skaters left him exposed far too often, and that kind of breakdown is tough for any netminder to survive.
There was at least one small bright spot: the power play finally scored. Buffalo entered the night stuck in a 0-for-13 skid and as the last team in the league without a power-play goal. Tage Thompson changed that by rushing up the right side and slipping one past Karel Vejmelka.
That goal offered a little relief, but not much more. The Sabres went 1-for-4 on the man advantage, and the same problems kept showing up.
The zone entries weren’t clean, and the puck movement still lacked bite. That part of their game has to get sorted out fast.
At five-on-five, Buffalo had been one of the best teams in the league before these last two games. That’s why the current slide feels so jarring. The scoring chance creation and overall pressure that had carried them earlier has all but vanished over the past 120 minutes.
The other concern is harder to pin down on a stat sheet: the Sabres looked flat. They had a little energy early, but once Kailer Yamamoto tied the game at 1-1, the momentum seemed to drain right out of them. After that, Buffalo spent most of the night chasing.
A bad game happens. Two straight poor showings start to tell a story.
The Sabres now have a short turnaround before a Sunday matinee against the Florida Panthers, followed by a pair of games against the Montreal Canadiens and a trip to face the Washington Capitals. If Buffalo doesn’t snap out of this quickly, the start of the season could get messy in a hurry.
In Other News...
Sabres Just Added A New Concern To Their Blue Line Depth
The Sabres quietly shuffled their blue line depth on Sunday, striking a trade with the Penguins that sends Ryan Johnson to Pittsburgh and brings Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch into Buffalos organization. All three defensemen are currently assigned to minor league teams, so this is more of an organizational move than a move that changes the NHL roster right away, but it does mark the end of Johnsons time with the Sabres.
Even so, it lands in a part of the roster that has become worth watching. Buffalo has been managing its defense group carefully, and any move that thins out one option while adding two new names naturally draws attention in the system. Jones and Laatsch give the Sabres fresh depth to work with, but the timing adds another layer to a blue line picture that already needed close monitoring. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Still Searching For Answers As Danforth Rejoins The Mix
Justin Danforth is back in the Sabres mix after working his way through a long recovery, and his recent return has given Buffalo at least one welcome piece of stability as it keeps sorting through the early-season picture. He has played in the teams last three games and is already seeing time as a penalty killer, a role that fits the kind of dependable minutes the Sabres have been searching for while juggling their lineup.
Lindy Ruff has been upbeat about what Danforth has brought since rejoining the group, and Buffalo still has a few moving parts to sort out as it looks ahead to the next stretch of games. The Sabres are continuing to adjust both their lines and their goalie usage, which leaves plenty of room for more change even as Danforth settles back into the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers-Sabres Took A Sudden Turn When Dahlin Left
The Sabres' afternoon against Florida took an abrupt turn when captain Rasmus Dahlin was forced out with an upper-body injury, a tough break for a blue line that has leaned heavily on him since opening night. Dahlin had started this season with three points in four games, and he came into it fresh off a standout campaign in which he helped push Buffalo back toward the playoffs and finished third in Norris Trophy voting.
For a team sitting at 2-3-0 and seventh in the Atlantic Division, losing its top defenseman in the middle of a game is the kind of development that can ripple well beyond one result. Buffalo did not have much margin for error already, and Dahlin's absence leaves another question hanging over a roster still trying to find its footing early in the season. [Read more 🡒]