The Buffalo Sabres have very quietly been one of the hottest teams in the NHL. With a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games, the Sabres have been gaining a little bit of steam. They dominated the New York Rangers, and had a nice comeback win over the Anaheim Ducks before taking their game on the road.
It didn’t take long to find out that Thursday night just wasn’t their night. The Sabres were easily dispatched by the Carolina Hurricanes (wearing their awesome Hartford Whalers uniforms) to the tune of 5-2. Let’s get into the takeaways from an otherwise forgettable game.
Team Defense Was Atrocious
Goaltending in this one was not good (more on that later), but team defense was just abysmal. Carolina was consistently applying pressure, posting more shots in the first period (17) than the Sabres would manage across all three (15).
There are pieces in place – like Bowen Byram, who needs to be re-signed – but even they were bad last night. A couple of awful turnovers led directly to goals, giving Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and James Reimer little to no help throughout the night.
The Sabres are perfectly capable of playing well defensively as a team. That said, the turnovers in their own end are often crippling and that was the case against Carolina. The season technically is not over, but if the Sabres are seriously going to make a run, they can’t be committing mistakes on such an egregious level.
The Ryan McLeod Trade Was a Home Run
In addition to whatever potential playoff push may be left, the Sabres are looking for positive finishes from certain players. What they can hang their hat on is the fact that the trade with the Edmonton Oilers this summer for Ryan McLeod has been an absolute home run.
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He got on the board against Carolina with a beautiful assist on a 2-on-1 rush. He’s now got points in six of his last eight games, and 31 points on the season. His offensive game has been above and beyond what anyone could have hoped for out of a third-line center.
McLeod continues to play a solid two-way game with good speed and skill. At 25 years old, he still has room to grow as well. The Sabres don’t get a lot of things right, and Matt Savoie could still become what everyone has envisioned, but this trade has been a clear win for the Sabres so far.
Goaltending Has Been Inconsistent
It cannot be understated just how bad the goaltending was for the Sabres against the Hurricanes. Having said that, Luukkonen – and to a much lesser extent, because we barely see him – Reimer have not been consistently good.
Luukkonen has his games. He was very good against the Rangers when he needed to be. But he has these lapses where he gives up bad goals that happen far too often. Some of that is team defense, but some of it is just on his shoulders. It’s the worst possible combination for the Sabres.
Luukkonen isn’t going anywhere. He is part of the foundation of this team for at least the next season or two, but they need him to be better on a more consistent basis. His .894 save percentage tells two stories, and neither of them is going to help the Sabres get back into the playoffs.
We All Knew a Late Push Wasn’t Happening
Coming into this game, there was a minor buzz around the Sabres given how well they have been playing. Many are estimating that they need about 91 points to get into the playoffs, which means that they would have needed to go 18-9-0 or better to finish the season. Naturally, they lost by three goals in the first game afterward.
It’s fine, losses are going to happen, and the Hurricanes are a good team. The realistic goal is to finish the season within shouting distance of the playoffs and carry some semblance of momentum into the offseason.
