Score: Islanders 5 | Sabres 2
Shots: NYI 45 | BUF 18
Sabres Goals: Taylor Hall (2), Rasmus Ristolainen (3)
Islanders Goals: Noah Dobson (2), Matt Martin (3,4), Anthony Beauvillier (2), Jordan Eberle (9)
Plus 1 – Hall Actually Scored!
I think a lot of us breathed a small sigh of relief when Taylor Hall finally got the puck in the net on Thursday night. It’s just his second goal of the season, but hopefully it’ll be the much-needed spark for the 29-year-old. Hall hadn’t scored since the first game of the season, so here’s to hoping it doesn’t take him 20 games to find another goal.
Minus 1 – You Let Matt Martin Score.. Twice?!
Not only did the Sabres let Matt Martin score – they let him score TWICE, including one from the doorstep and another by banking the puck off Jonas Johansson’s head from below the goal line. That honestly sums up the Sabres’ season pretty well.
With two goals tonight, Martin has four goals on the season – which means he has more goals than Jack Eichel, Taylor Hall, Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo combined.
Martin banks it off Johansson’s head from below the goal line and in.
2-0 Islanders. pic.twitter.com/a7DViAhRf0
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) March 5, 2021
Minus 2 – Everything is Bad.
With Thursday’s loss, the Sabres have now dropped five games in a row. Buffalo’s last win came in the 4-1 victory back on February 23, which was only a week and a half ago but honestly feels like a lifetime. Since then, the Sabres have dropped the following decisions: 4-3 (OT, NJD); 3-0 (PHI); 3-0 (PHI); 3-2 (NYR) and 4-2 (NYI). There’s not a whole lot of good that can be said right now.
Minus 3 – When Will It Get Better?
The Sabres have now lost seven consecutive decisions to the Islanders, dating back March 2019. Their last win against the Isles came way back on February 12, 2019, and this season alone Buffalo is 0-4. That alone would be bad, but it’s even worse when you remember that Thursday’s game was the opening of a three-game series between the teams. Between Buffalo’s overall struggles this season, their overwhelming issues as of late and their historic problems with the Islanders, it doesn’t lend a lot of confidence to what will happen Saturday and Sunday.