The Buffalo Sabres have struggled against the Boston Bruins over the past few years, and their latest game on Nov. 14 was no exception. The Sabres entered the contest having won just two of the past 20 games against the Bruins. On this night, Boston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, and the Sabres could not claw their way back into the game. The Bruins controlled play for the most part and kept the Sabres’ offense at bay until they established a five-goal lead. Buffalo added two goals before the final horn, but it was too little, too late.
Tage Thompson Injured
Disaster struck for the Sabres in the second period of this game. Tage Thompson took a Charlie McAvoy shot to the wrist on the penalty kill and immediately went down the tunnel in pain. Head coach Don Granato confirmed that Thompson could be missing in action for a “significant” amount of time. Injury problems for the Sabres are beginning to mount, with Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn, Zach Benson, and now Thompson all out of the lineup.
Sabres Hung Levi Out to Dry
On the surface, Devon Levi’s .881 save percentage (SV%) and 3.65 goals-against average this season don’t look very flattering. But make no mistake; the Sabres have played brutal defense in front of him. The young goaltender, coming off a fantastic performance in his last outing against the Minnesota Wild, was yanked in the second period against the Bruins after allowing five goals on 18 shots.
I’ve talked before about Levi’s difficulties handling rebounds. The Bruins were able to exploit this weakness just three minutes in. A McAvoy wrister popped off Levi, and Owen Power failed to tie up Danton Heinen, who buried the rebound.
Levi would want that one back, but the defense should shoulder most of the blame besides the first goal. David Pastrnak was left open for a beautiful one-timer goal to put the Bruins up 2-0 early. Before the period was over, the Sabres gave up a three-on-one break that Brandon Carlo finished off to give Boston a 3-0 lead. In the second period, Power made a bad read and turned the puck over to Oskar Steen in the low slot for the 4-0 goal. Finally, Hampus Lindholm fired a bullet on the powerplay to beat a screened Levi and end his night. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tended the goal for the rest of the evening.
Related: Sabres: Trade Destinations for Victor Olofsson
Levi finished the game with a minus-1.55 goals saved above expected (GSAx). It was not a spectacular night, but he didn’t get much help. Levi has a respectable GSAx of 0.15 on the season, which sits right around the league average. He, Luukkonen, and Eric Comrie have all been close to average through the first 16 games of 2023-24. So far, they have given the Sabres a marginally better rotation in net than last season, but Buffalo’s defense still has a long way to go.
Sabres’ First Period Troubles
The Sabres had a sluggish start to this game. It’s a theme that has played out repeatedly for this team, and it’s something that Granato is no doubt concerned about. After last night, the Sabres first-period goal differential fell to minus-7, tied for 27th in the NHL. Only the Minnesota Wild have given up more first-period goals than the Sabres. The Bruins, on the other hand, are tied with the New York Islanders for the fewest goals against in first periods this season, and they improved to an NHL-best plus-10.
Sabres Powerplay Remains Powerless
The powerplay was 0/2 against the Bruins, making it nine consecutive man-advantages without a goal for the Sabres. They have scored at a rate of just 10.6%, which is 29th in the NHL. Buffalo’s powerplay was in the league’s top half last seasonr, but the results have been very different in 2023-24. The troubling thing about this slow start for the powerplay is that it isn’t just a lack of finish; they aren’t generating chances.
The Sabres have been taking more shots from the perimeter and haven’t been able to set up their talented shooters like Thompson for high-danger opportunities. There needs to be quicker, crisper passes and more chaos created in front of the net. None of that happened in this game; the Bruins won the special teams battle.
Sabres Positives
Victor Olofsson was a bright spot for the Sabers’ offense on an otherwise quiet night. He scored his first and second goals of the season, finally getting the monkey off his back. Olofsson had a career-high 28 goals in 2022-23, but his shooting percentage of 17.39% was a significant outlier in his career. This season’s regression was predictable, but zero goals in the first 15 games wasn’t the start he wanted. It’s good to see him back on the scoresheet.
Kyle Okposo celebrated his 1000th NHL game, becoming the 12th player in Sabres history to hit the milestone. Okposo was excellent on his big night. He played more minutes than usual and finished with the second-highest 5v5 expected goal share on the team at an impressive 73.3%. While he didn’t do any scoring, the Sabres’ captain proved that 1,000 games into his NHL career, he can still contribute positively.
Up Next for the Sabres
After back-to-back disappointing losses, the Sabres will look to turn things around against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 15. It starts a three-game road trip where they pass through Chicago and Washington.
