The Buffalo Sabres rolled into New Jersey on Oct. 27 with a tall task ahead of them. They were in town to face a Devils team featuring the NHL’s leading scorer, Jack Hughes, who already had 17 points in his first six games of 2023-24. The Sabres, coming off a big 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators, were looking to secure their first two-game winning streak of the season. While they did muster another four-goal performance, Buffalo’s defensive game left a lot to be desired in what ended as a 5-4 loss. After this defeat, the Sabres fell to dead last in the Eastern Conference.
Devils Owned the Front of the Net
Last week, I wrote a piece where I suggested that the Sabres need to prioritize protecting the areas just outside of the blue paint, partly due to Devon Levi’s tendency to give up rebounds. Last night, they allowed Devils players to remain uncontested in front of the net far too often, which cost them. On the Devils’ first goal of the game, Luke Hughes wristed a puck on net, and it pinballed off goalie Eric Comrie onto Alexader Holtz‘s stick, where he tapped it home. Connor Clifton followed Holtz to the net, but he didn’t make much of an effort to tie up the stick. On the game-winning goal, Erik Haula was given plenty of space near the net, where he deflected the puck in.
Rebound and deflection goals are going to happen, but the Sabres are simply making their opponents’ lives too easy right now. Nobody is afraid to go to the net against them. The only teams with more expected goals against than the Sabres are the Montreal Canadiens and the lowly San Jose Sharks.
Sabres Lose Eric Comrie to Injury, Connor Clifton to Ejection
Comrie is no stranger to injuries, having dealt with a few issues throughout last season. In this game, he caught another tough break. While making a pad save, Comrie suffered a lower-body injury and was replaced by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the remainder of the game. The Sabres are currently down to one healthy goaltender out of the three on their NHL roster. However, Levi is aiming to return soon, so we’ll see if he’s back in the lineup for the next game. It’s an unfortunate situation for Comrie, who was off to a strong start to the season and had a chance to earn himself more games.
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Late in the first period, Clifton blew up Nico Hischier, and fireworks ensued. Upon review, it’s pretty clear to me that the main point of contact was the head. The refs saw it that way, too, and after a brief fight with Ondrej Palat, Clifton was sent to the locker room with a match penalty. He is awaiting a hearing with the NHL, and I expect there to be a suspension. He clearly contacted the head. It wasn’t a vicious enough play for this to be a very long suspension, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Comrie isn’t the only player who the Sabres will be without in the next game.
Sabres’ Powerplay Problems Continue
The Devils haven’t exactly set the world on fire on the penalty kill so far this season, but the Sabres missed their chance to take advantage. They only got two powerplay opportunities, and one resulted in a goal against. Dylan Cozens sent a pass back to Dahlin at the point that was too slow and got intercepted by Haula for a shorthanded breakaway goal.
It’s the second shorthanded goal given up by the Sabres this season. For a team with this much talent, outscoring opponents just 3-2 on the man advantage through eight games is not good enough. Only four teams in the NHL have generated fewer scoring chances on the powerplay than the Sabres.
Sabres Positives
This was a tough loss, but it was a fun seesaw battle between two gifted offensive teams. The Sabres generated several prime chances through excellent forechecking. Alex Tuch and Jordan Greenway won a puck battle off a forecheck that led to Tage Thompson’s beautiful first-period tally. In the second period, Tuch brought pressure into the Devils’ zone and spun off a check to eventually set up a Rasmus Dahlin bomb. This team has the size and speed to get in on the forecheck and win battles. They managed to do that on a couple of their goals in this contest.
Related: Sabres Need To Drastically Improve their Defense
The Sabres had some issues with turnovers and defending around their net, but they did an excellent job shutting down Jack Hughes. Aside from his powerplay goal, Hughes was rendered mostly ineffective. Owen Power had a particularly impressive game on both sides of the puck.
Up Next for the Sabres
Things don’t get any easier for the Sabres, as they have a home-and-home series against the surging Philadelphia Flyers. They’ll be at Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 1 before returning to Buffalo on the 3rd.
All stats from Moneypuck.com, Natural Stat Trick, and NHL.com
