Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Buffalo Sabres have hit a crossroads in their season. After an absolutely abysmal 5-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, in which they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, Thursday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets felt like a pivotal point for the team.
The Sabres found out that captain Rasmus Dahlin will be out for some time with an injury, making the task more daunting. Though they gave it their best effort, the Sabres ultimately fell short against the Jets, losing in overtime 3-2. Here are three takeaways:
The Effort Was Better, but Moral Victories Are Worthless
Given what a mess the Avalanche game was, it was imperative for the Sabres to come out with a good effort against the Jets. The Sabres did just that. Tage Thompson remains hot, scoring his 14th goal of the season on an early power play, something the unit as a whole needed.
Having said that, showing good effort is no longer good enough. This team cannot possibly be serious about contending for a playoff spot while still accepting moral victories. Yes, Dahlin was out, and that injury will be felt. Yes, the Jets are very good. But at this stage, the Sabres need to just win games.
Getting a point against the Jets is fine and well. It will matter if the Sabres can string together a stretch of winning hockey. But right now, it just feels like an “okay, and?” after the ugly loss to Colorado. Maybe this is a point where the team will galvanize but history strongly indicates otherwise.
Tyson Kozak and the Mysterious Goaltender Interference
Making his NHL debut, 2021 seventh-round pick Tyson Kozak nearly had a storybook night. With his family in the crowd, it appeared that he had his first NHL goal just past the midway point of the second period. It would have put the Sabres up 3-2 at a critical point of the game.
Instead, we ended up with the most controversial call of the night. Jets coach Scott Arniel wound up challenging the play for goaltender interference due to some contact between goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn.
Despite there being very minimal contact in which Hellebuyck didn’t really move, the call was overturned. There was additional frustration given an unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference on Gabe Vilardi’s first-period goal. “I feel like it’s bullsh*t,” goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen said. “There’s no way I can make a save on that. I’m not that far out from the crease.”
Kozak’s first goal came off the board and the two continued to play on. Ultimately, the game would go to overtime and captain Adam Lowry would give the Jets the victory.
Dylan Cozens Is Alive?
Focusing on a purely positive takeaway, it seems that after a season of frustration, Dylan Cozens is finally waking up. He gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead just past the midway point of the first period, tipping in his sixth goal of the season on a nice rush with Zach Benson.
Related: Sabres Seeing a Season of Struggles from Quinn & Cozens
After an absolutely horrific start to the season, Cozens is starting to find his game. Since Benson returned to the lineup, he has looked like a different player. In his last six games, he has a point in four of them for a total of five points. He also has three goals in that span.
It still isn’t quite where he was two seasons ago, but it’s nice to see him starting to find his game. If the Sabres have any hope of making the playoffs, Cozens is going to play an integral role. Unlike his linemate Jack Quinn, Cozens has at least shown signs that he can build momentum.
On to the Next One
Losing in overtime on a flukey bounce feels very much like the Sabres in a nutshell. Even when they are playing well, even when their effort is clearly high, they still fall short against a legitimately good team. It feels like the ceiling for this franchise over the past 13 seasons.
It’s hard to not still feel frustration toward this franchise at this stage. The Jets game is what it is and would be fine if it weren’t the fifth straight loss and following that abomination of a game against the Avalanche. Until they can start putting some wins together, it feels like games like this don’t matter.
