Score: Sabres 1, Coyotes 4
Shots: Buffalo 33, Arizona 24
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Tage Thompson (8)
Arizona Coyotes Goals: Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller, Liam O’Brien, Matias Maccelli
Minus 1: From the Get-go
It took only 23 seconds of game action before the Sabres found themselves in a hole. It’s obviously an unfortunate start to any game, as a miscue between Owen Power and Kale Clague led to Lawson Crouse’s sixth goal of the season:
Power and Clague don’t connect on the reversal play and Arizona capitalizes.
1-0 Yotes 23 seconds in. pic.twitter.com/NokveGgjBY
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) November 9, 2022
Thankfully for Buffalo, they’ve got Tage Thompson in their repertoire, and he was able to tie the game later in the first period on the power play. Regardless, it’s not a good way to start a game and was a sign of more struggles to come as the night went on.
Arizona’s second goal was an incredibly unlucky one for the Sabres, as a shot went right off Dylan Cozens and past Eric Comrie. Sometimes, things go your way and sometimes… they just don’t.
Minus 1: Failure to Capitalize
The Sabres had four power-play opportunities on Tuesday night, and were able to capitalize on one of those chances. Special teams can be critical to a team’s success, and there were certainly times when a power-play goal could’ve helped swing the game in Buffalo’s favor.
Their first chance of the night came just 49 seconds in, shortly after Arizona’s opening goal. Scoring on that – tying the game quickly – would’ve helped even the momentum and take off that early jump that the Coyotes got. Another power play a few minutes later, same thing.
The Sabres’ power play this season is effective at 24.0 percent, 13th in the NHL.
Final Thoughts
It was a bit of a ho-hum of a game, honestly. The best part may have been that the Sabres blueline is finally, hopefully, rebuilding. Rasmus Dahlin was back in the lineup after a one-game absence and played a team-high 27:37. Ilya Lyubushkin also returned and played 13:32.
Next up for the Sabres: the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.