The Buffalo Sabres were unable to overcome an early deficit and lost 6-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at Ball Arena in Denver. The defeat marks the Sabres’ fourth consecutive regulation loss, and the team remains winless on the road this season.
Coach Lindy Ruff addressed the team’s struggles following the game. “We’ve got to win a hockey game; there’s no excuses,” Ruff said. “… We’ve been, in every road game, within a goal (late), and haven’t pushed through yet.”
Colorado took control early, with Martin Necas scoring less than a minute into the game and Artturi Lehkonen doubling the lead shortly after. In response, Ruff pulled starting goaltender Alex Lyon and brought in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. “Taking the goalie out was to buy me some time and talk to the team for a second, to get organized and say, ‘We’re going to get back in this game,’” Ruff explained. “And I thought we did. … Had nothing to do with Lyon.”
Bowen Byram scored for Buffalo soon after, but Colorado’s Brock Nelson restored their two-goal advantage before Jordan Greenway responded with his first goal of the season for Buffalo.
Tage Thompson commented on how Buffalo responded after falling behind: “We did a good job on our breakouts, possessing the puck,” he said. “I think we had some shifts where we were possessing in the O-zone, had bodies and traffic at the net and had some second opportunities. You see the first goal there, Bo’s: pretty simple shot from the point, and just whacking away and get a greasy one there.”
At the end of an active first period, Colorado led 3-2 despite both teams recording only six shots each.
Buffalo tied it late in the second period during a power play when Isak Rosen set up Thompson for a one-timer that ended an 0-for-13 streak on power plays dating back to October 30 in Boston. Ruff praised his young players: “We changed things around, we moved the puck quicker, we were a lot more direct,” he said about adjustments made on special teams. “That’s a lot of pressure on two young kids to play on the power play, but I thought they did a good job.”
However, Colorado regained momentum quickly as Gavin Brindley scored off a deflected shot less than two minutes later. Luukkonen described it as difficult to stop: “It’s tough to read those, because you have a read on the guy where he’s shooting it, then it goes somewhere completely different,” he said. “Unlucky. Lucky bounce for them, but of course you want to make a save there.”
Buffalo failed to convert another late power play opportunity before Necas added his second goal of the night for Colorado; Gabriel Landeskog sealed victory with an empty-net goal.
Reflecting on recent close losses without results since November 1st, Greenway said: “We’ve been fighting it a little bit the past couple of games, so, yeah, two points would’ve been huge for us,” he stated. “Couldn’t find a way to do it, so we’ve got to move on to Detroit.”
Ruff also made changes at center after Ryan McLeod struggled in faceoffs during Wednesday’s game against Utah by moving Thompson back into that role; Thompson won 11 of 17 draws against Colorado and contributed two points offensively.
“I felt like myself; felt way better in the middle,” Thompson said after returning to center ice duties. “I thought I was moving my feet really well… For me, I like being in the middle. You can carry the puck and kind of dictate the pace of the game…”
The Sabres conclude their road trip Saturday night against Detroit with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by puck drop at 7 p.m.
