The Buffalo Sabres needed a response on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead, they got a reminder of how quickly things can unravel when the details slip. Nikita Kucherov ripped off a natural hat trick, the Sabres were buried in the third period, and the final score settled at 8-3.
That result fit a pattern that’s been hard to ignore. Buffalo has shown flashes of real quality, including an impressive West Coast road trip, but the inconsistency keeps dragging them back. They’ve now dropped two of three at home, with the 4-1 Sunday matinee loss to the Vegas Golden Knights still fresh in the picture.
One of the biggest problems is easy to spot: the defense has not held up. Goaltending has taken plenty of heat this season, but Wednesday was another example that the issues run deeper than the crease.
Tampa Bay found too much space around the net, scoring three times with a player left completely unchecked near the goal mouth. The Lightning also beat Buffalo three times off the rush, including Kucherov’s breakaway.
The numbers back up the eye test. The Sabres are giving up the ninth-most high-danger chances in the league, and they’re not offsetting that by sacrificing bodies in front of shots.
They rank 31st in team blocks. That’s a sharp turn from last season, when Buffalo got help from strong goaltending and a defense that was willing to sell out to block pucks.
There was at least a brief stretch Wednesday when the Sabres looked ready to fight back. From about four minutes left in the second period to just over a minute into the third, they cut the deficit to 4-3 and had some momentum.
Josh Doan and Jason Zucker were part of that push, and both had arguably their best games of the season. But once Buffalo got close, Kucherov answered with two goals in less than three minutes, and the comeback was gone.
That middle-six production matters because the Sabres can’t keep leaning on the top line to carry everything. The second and third lines have been too uneven, and Buffalo’s scoring has reflected that.
Doan, Zucker, Ryan McLeod, and others need to give the club more if it’s going to steady itself. A trade may be the only way to shake up the mix.
Rasmus Dahlin is also becoming a bigger part of the conversation. Last season, he was the catalyst for the Sabres’ top four on defense and earned his first Norris Trophy nomination.
The expectation was that it was only a matter of time before he took home the NHL’s top defenseman award. This year, though, he hasn’t looked like that player.
His offense is a bit behind last season’s pace, but the bigger concern is his defensive game, where the costly mistakes have piled up, especially in the opposing zone. He hasn’t been bad, but he has not been the Norris-level force Buffalo has come to rely on, and the Sabres need more from him.
The schedule gives Buffalo a chance to clean things up quickly. The Sabres host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, a game that should offer a chance to feel better about themselves.
After that, the test gets much tougher. Road games against the Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, and Lightning are on deck before Thanksgiving, and those nights will say plenty about what this team really is.
In Other News...
Lightning Fans Got An Intriguing First Look At Sam OReilly
Sam OReillys first night in the NHL came with a little more responsibility than a typical debut. Called up from AHL Syracuse, he stepped into the Tampa Bay lineup and got a chance to play in a prominent role right away, a sign the Lightning saw enough in him to trust him in a meaningful spot as they navigated a lineup missing Brayden Point.
For OReilly, the moment was as personal as it was professional. His family and friends were in the building to take in the milestone, turning his debut into a celebration as well as an evaluation. For the Lightning, it offered an early glimpse of a young player getting thrown into the mix sooner than expected, with more of his role likely to come into focus as the week unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Let This One Slip Away After Brief Third-Period Hope
The Lightning rolled through Buffalo at KeyBank Center, turning a game that briefly felt within reach into an 8-3 rout. Nikita Kucherov led the way with three goals, while Andrei Vasilevskiy handled the rest with 28 saves as Tampa Bay kept finding answers whenever the Sabres tried to make a push.
Buffalo had some life from Josh Doan, Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson, but the margin for error disappeared quickly against a Tampa Bay attack that kept piling on. John Carlson also chipped in with a goal and four assists, giving the Lightning plenty of support around Kucherov in a win that looked comfortable by the end and left the Sabres searching for what slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Kucherov Is Giving The Lightning A Massive Problem They Can't Ignore
Nikita Kucherov has kept producing like one of the leagues most dangerous forwards even as the contract situation around him has grown more awkward by the week. The Lightning wingers future in Tampa Bay has been clouded since he asked for a trade in October, a response to what he saw as a lack of communication about a new deal, and the teams front office has been forced to manage a situation that is becoming harder to ignore with each passing game.
For now, general manager Julien BriseBois says he is not moving Kucherov, which leaves the Lightning in the uncomfortable spot of trying to chase wins with a star who may be headed elsewhere after the season. Kucherovs recent performance only sharpens the dilemma, because he is still giving Tampa Bay elite-level offense while the long-term picture remains unsettled and free agency looms as the most likely ending. [Read more 🡒]