Sabres' special teams, goaltending spoil comeback in OT loss: Takeaways from Montreal
Rasmus Dahlin's late goal forced overtime, but the Sabres were plagued by familiar problems in a loss at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Rasmus Dahlin decided to keep the puck as soon as Tage Thompson skated out of the left circle with time winding down in the third period Monday night.
Dahlin stickhandled toward the left circle as Thompson rotated to the blue line, convincing the Montreal Canadiens that the Sabres captain was preparing to pass back to with their team trailing by a goal. A few feet behind the faceoff dot, Dahlin snapped a low shot that tied the score with 1:01 remaining in regulation.
Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield celebrates after his goal in front of Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power during first period Monday night in Montreal.
(Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
The three-goal lead built by the Canadiens during the Sabres’ undisciplined first period was gone, and the rematch between the Atlantic Division foes would come down to overtime. They didn’t get the save they needed.
Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson sent Montreal to a 4-3 win with a short-side shot from the right circle that beat Sabres goalie James Reimer with 3:39 remaining in overtime.
“I didn’t like the goal that went in on us, obviously,” lamented Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.
The Sabres have lost three games in a row for the first time since their 13-game skid ended Dec. 23, and they are 24-29-6 after dropping four of their last six games. They were outscored 21-11 while going 0-3-1 against Montreal this season. In some ways, the game was a microcosm of their tumultuous season.
All involved knew this was going to be an emotional game. The two teams played only two nights earlier. Ruff reminded his players to stay disciplined, yet they committed three careless penalties in the first period.
The Sabres have taken the sixth-most minor penalties in the NHL this season. The Canadiens scored a pair of power-play goals, capped by Juraj Slafkovsky’s pass that went off Connor Clifton and past Reimer to give Montreal a 3-0 lead. Buffalo’s penalty kill has allowed at least one goal in six straight games. It is 12-for-20 during that span and ranks 21st in the league.
“Wanting to win; that’s all it is,” said Dahlin, who was called for three minor penalties Monday night. “We knew it’s a division game. We’re in playoff mode. We really wanted this game. Stuff happens out there. A lot of emotions. It didn’t go well today.”
Buffalo had a power play midway through the first period with a chance to tie it 1-1, but Dylan Cozens’ turnover along the wall led to Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki scoring a shorthanded goal. The Sabres went 0-for-4 on the power play in the game – including 0-for-3 following the first period – and their 3-for-38 slump over the past 12 games has them at 27th in the NHL. They couldn’t create a scoring chance when Alex Newhook was in the penalty box for tripping with 10:22 left in regulation and Montreal leading by a goal.
The barrage of penalties in the first period prevented the Sabres from playing at 5-on-5, where they’ve scored the third-most goals in the NHL. They had 14 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 between the second and third periods Monday night, according to Natural Stat Trick. Tuch’s 23rd goal of the season was a rebound created by Cozens driving to the net, and Thompson cut the deficit to 3-2 with his 29th goal of the season. His 99-mph one-timer from behind the left circle stunned the crowd.
Dahlin delivered the tying goal while Reimer was pulled for an extra attacker, but the Sabres didn’t pull through in overtime. Their goalies haven't given them enough clutch saves this season. They are 4-13-1 on the road since their three-game California sweep in November, and they earned only five points in five games following the break. The comeback means little for Buffalo. It needs to win games to escape last place in the Eastern Conference.
“We definitely made it harder than it needed to be on ourselves tonight, “ said Thompson. “That being said, we fought our way back, got a point. But yeah, we needed that other one.”
Here are other takeaways from the game:
1. Power play
The Sabres had eight shots on goal during their four power plays.Jack Quinn had multiple looks from the slot in the second period, and Tuch nearly scored before the Canadiens’ shorthanded goal. They’re still out of synch, though. Buffalo’s power play has been a problem for 26 months. Thompson told reporters that “overthinking” is the root of the problem. He added that the Sabres are routinely forcing seam passes and should be shooting more.
Jason Zucker’s absence is significant. Dahlin noted that each of the four forwards on Buffalo’s top unit are right-handed, a less-than-ideal setup, and he wants the group to rethink its approach.
“Right now, there’s a lot of things we have to adjust,” said Dahlin. “There’s a couple meetings here moving forward that need to get done. We have to clarify a lot of things.”
2. Officiating
Ruff had a problem with the officiating Saturday night in Buffalo.“I thought we got the pretty short end of the stick on a lot of calls,” he said. “That’s just my opinion.”
When asked by a Montreal reporter if the Sabres’ focus in Bell Centre was to stave off frustration, Ruff replied, “If we don’t get the calls. It’s a tough building to get the calls, though.”
It’s no secret that Ruff’s been frustrated with officiating at different points this season, and he’s never afraid to share his opinion through the media. The crew that called the game in Montreal must have heard his comments. Cozens was given the only penalty at 1:57 into the game when a scrum broke out around the Sabres’ net, even though the center was coming to the defense of Reimer, who was whacked after the whistle.
3. Clicking
The Sabres’ top line was clicking against the Canadiens.They had a 9-1 edge in shots on goal at 5-on-5 when Thompson, Jiri Kulich and JJ Peterka were on the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick. Peterka took an undisciplined penalty in the first period, but he rebounded in a big way. He had six shots on goal and two assists. Thompson added five shots on goal, and he has 12 points in his last nine games. He matched his goal output from last season with his shot 3:24 into the third period.
4. Stepping up
Several of the Sabres’ depth players contributed to the comeback.Buffalo’s Dennis Gilbert made an excellent breakout pass to send Cozens into the offensive zone before Tuch’s goal. Sam Lafferty had one of his best games of the season with three shots on goal and six shot attempts. His line with Beck Malenstyn and Peyton Krebs also drew a penalty.
Jacob Bryson was moved to a defense pair with Owen Power because Ruff scratched Mattias Samuelsson. Bryson won a race to the puck at the right wall and moved it to Peterka, who set up Thompson for his goal.