Coming into this game, if you didn’t know any better and read the following fact, [blank] hasn’t lost a game in regulation since November 24, 2010, would you have guessed Jhonas Enroth or Martin Brodeur. With a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils, Jhonas Enroth earns his first loss in regulation in almost a year as he and the Sabres defense allows another five goal game.
The fact that the Sabres defense have allowed five or more goals in three of their last five games shows that they have been down right awful defensively. What makes it worse yet is that two of those efforts have come in front of the home crowd. Jhonas Enroth allowed five goals on 19 shots before being mercifully pulled with 11:25 left in the third period. At the other end of the rink, Martin Brodeur played somewhat better than his 3.20 GAA and .880 SV% stat line looked. He made some vintage saves that kept the Devils in the game and ultimately was the deciding factor. His final stat line for the night was three goals allowed on 32 shots.
The defense were the only players that could find the offense tonight. Myers, one game after his benching, scored two of the three Sabres goals, which were his first two of the season, and Jordan Leopold scored the third goal. Myers finished the night with the aforementioned two goals, four shots on net, two takeaways, and a controversial hit on the Devils’ Danius Zubrus. Check out the hit below if you missed it:
“I thought Tyler skated well, got up in the play, made an excellent shot on the goal but he was in on four or five other opportunities. I thought he skated as well as he’s skated all season and he had a little bit of an edge as well,” said Ruff after the game. Myers agreed with those thoughts and said this after the game, “I think that playing more physical was what ultimately helped my game. Playing that tough in the D zone just gets me in the game a lot more and I’m going to have to find a way to try and do that every night.”
The rest of my thoughts after the jump
– The Sabres power play could have had the chance to get this team back into the game in the third period and only generated two shots on goal and looked listless through much of it. While they did capitalize on one of their four chances, they did also start the game by allowing a shorthanded goal, their 3rd of the season. “We tried to create some momentum on that first power play and we created negative energy,” said Ruff after the game.
– The defense were the lone group to score on the night and they increased their total scoring to nine goals on the season. Unfortunately, most nights in the NHL, a team isn’t going to win if their defense are the only ones to score.
– The offensive goat of the game has to be Derek Roy who was a -2 on the night and took a late hooking penalty in the game. He is also credited with one giveaway, the one that eventually led to the Parise shorthanded goal.
The Sabres have one night off before playing back to back games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Phoenix Coyotes.