The Sabres struggle again with a 5-3 loss Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators. Patrick Lalime takes his second loss of the season in his second start of the season while the team comes back from a four goal deficit to bring the game within two goals. Lalime made 21 saves on 26 shots but again played behind a team that appeared listless for large stretches of the game. The Sabres ended up outshooting the Senators 41-26 and also outhit the Senators 29-24 but could not find the back of the net. Pascal Leclaire played well for the first two periods of the game before leaving the game during the second intermission. Brian Elliott filled in during the third period and ended up earning the win.
Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson scored two goals on the night while Milan Michalek, Filip Kuba, and Chris Kelly scored the other three goals. For the Sabres, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and Patrick Kaleta all found the back of the net. The Sabres also had their fair share of missed opportunities in this game with 18 missed shots and 22 blocked shots.
The Sabres main problems have started to blossom in the past three games. The Sabres are missing a backup goaltender that instills confidence in the team. In my personal opinion, many of those goals Lalime really did not have a chance on, but the team does not play with the same intensity and with the same passion that they do when Ryan Miller is in net. If the Sabres are going to have a chance to make the playoffs, they need to find a goaltender that gives the team the confidence that they can win the game which Lalime nor Enroth do. Buffalo has a few days off until they play again on Wednesday night.