Score: Sabres 2 | Kings 3
Shots: LAK 34 | BUF 24
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Rasmus Asplund (4), Victor Olofsson (5)
Los Angeles Kings Goals: Carl Grundstrom (2), Anne Kopitar (7), Alex Iafallo (4)
Minus-1: Penalties Galore
Sloppy penalties are certainly something the Sabres want to avoid, but they didn’t have so much luck doing so on Sunday evening. Lucky for them, the Kings scored on just one of their six power-play opportunities, but Buffalo spent more than 1/6th of the game on the disadvantage, which is not a good way to set up for a victory. Some of the calls were pretty weak, but you can only blame the officiating so much. The Sabres were shorthanded for four of the final six minutes of the game, which essentially squashed their hopes of a comeback.
Plus-1: Asplund Looks Good
You have to love what we’ve seen from Asplund so far this season. Rochester Americans fans are well-aware of how offensively talented he is, but it’s nice to see that translating so well to the NHL level. After potting two goals in his last game, Asplund had another nice one Sunday as he opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally:
Aspy’s first-career shorthanded goal 😎#LetsGoBuffalo | @raasmusaasplunf pic.twitter.com/bClgxwygyz
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 31, 2021
Rasmus Asplund’s 4 goals this year have been 5v6 ENG, 5v4 PPG, 3v3v OTG and 4v5 SHG #Sabres
— Brian Duff (@duffersabres) October 31, 2021
I Don’t Know How to Feel About This: Dylan Cozens Fighting
Just what the headline says, TBH. It’s the Sabres’ eighth game of the season, and Dylan Cozens took part in the first fight of the season with some fisticuffs with Brendan Lemieux.
Cozens vs Lemieux pic.twitter.com/InBCtoIQWk
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) October 31, 2021
Final Thoughts & Notes
- The Sabres needed to play better in front of Dustin Tokarski.
- Will we ever actually see Christian Wolanin play in blue & gold?
- Brett Murray made his season debut, skating on a line with Arttu Ruotsalainen & Drake Caggiula. He finished the game with 11:06 ice time, all even-strength, and one penalty.
- The Sabres are back in action Tuesday evening for a 10:30 pm puck drop in San Jose./