Minnesota Wild 3 Buffalo Sabres 2: Lalime Struggles in Sabres Loss

If we learned only one thing tonight, we learned that Josh Harding is better than Patrick Lalime and that is the story of the game.

It's easy to see why Lindy Ruff has no confidence in Patrick Lalime. Lalime allowed a weak goal to Andrew Ebbet and gift wrapped a goal to Guillermo Latendresse in the first period to put the Sabres behind the eight ball. When the first goal went in there was a feeling this would be a long night and when the second goal was scored, I knew it was going to be a long night.

This was a frustrating loss because the Sabres deserved a better fate. After falling behind on two awful goals by Lalime the Sabres struggled to figure out the defensive style of the Minnesota Wild. This game would have been different if the Sabres had the lead. They proved they were a better team than the Wild but playing from behind is difficult in almost any situation. It is even more difficult when you have to juggle lines because you are relying on players like Adam Mair to produce offensive chances.

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Final Thoughts

• Torres made an awful play to set up the third Wild Goal. He made an ill-advised pass inside the Wild zone that led to the initial rush and in an attempt to get back in the play he fell and created space for the Wild to set up the goal.
• This might be the last time we see Patrick Lalime in net for the Sabres this season. He might get a game when the standings are set but the risk of playing him while the Sabres are in the race is much too great.
• The Sabres power play generated chances early but they seemed to regress until the power play goal by Vanek. That goal came after a timeout that obviously sparked the Sabres offense.
• It was good to see Thomas Vanek get a pair of goals. We can only hope that he goes on a tear for the final month of the season.