Great Effort, 13th Straight Same Result
Score: Buffalo Sabres 1 | Boston Bruins 3
Shots: BUF 20 | BOS 19
Buffalo Sabres Goals: J.J. Peterka (10)
Boston Bruins Goals: Charlie Coyle (8), Morgan Geekie (7), Brad Marchand (14)
The Buffalo Sabres put in a strong effort tonight against Boston. But that WIN barrier has still not been breached. The Bruins elevated their game in the 3rd period, scored a late one and skated off with a 3-1 victory. 13 losses in a row now for Buffalo. It’s almost unfathomable at this point that this is happening again to us.
Minus 1 Darn it, Dahlin
Buffalo got bad news before the game even started as Rasmus Dahlin was unable to play in this one. Can we assume his back spasms issue has returned or was this a scheduled game off for him? How is Lindy Ruff handling this? The Sabres head coach said he would “manage” Dahlin’s playing time on Friday night against Toronto. Rasmus played for more than 27 minutes against the Leafs though. As this game went on, we got wind that this was Lindy’s plan, not to play him back to back. We shall see where this goes from here. A little worrisome to say the least.
As for the opening frame, the Sabres played a decent period of hockey on the road. But their anemic power play failed to cash in once again. Things got even worse as time expired on their first man advantage. Boston’s Charlie Coyle raced from the penalty box and got a breakaway on surprise starter James Reimer. The save was made but Coyle, sitting on his backside, continued to whack away at it and eventually scored. The Sabres did not challenge it but Coyle did run into Reimer as he fell on his own. He also appeared to push the pad of Buffalo’s net minder with his skate.
Buffalo got another power play to close out the period but it looked even more discombobulated than the first. The score was 1-0 Boston after the first period. The Sabres had the shot advantage but nothing to show for it.
Plus 1 Special Teams Step Up
During the losing streak, Buffalo has been awful in the 2nd and 3rd periods giving up goals against. They stepped it up in this middle frame, finally. To start, they killed off two Boston power plays and kept them scoreless in the 2nd. Even better, they finally cashed in on a power play goal of their own. J.J. Peterka got his 10th of the season with nice work from Jason Zucker and Bo Byram. Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo got a piece of Peterka’s shot but the puck sailed in to tie the game at 1. The Sabres again out shot the Bruins in the 2nd period and looked like the better team overall. This was easily one of Buffalo’s best periods of play in a while.
Minus 2 Falling Short Again
Boston came out in the third and started grinding this one out. The Bruins had the better chances and the Sabres were stymied in the offensive zone. Buffalo was limited to just 3 shots in the final frame. Still, the game was tied 1-1 late in regulation when Mattias Samuelsson checked a Boston attacker right into James Reimer. He fell forward as his leg was taken out from under him. Meanwhile, Morgan Geekie’s shot sailed into the net with the goalie down and out. The goal came at the 18:15 mark, another terrible finish for this seemingly cursed team. Sammy has had 2 strong games in a row. He made the right play but the result was unfortunate. The Bruins closed things out with an empty netter by some dirty Rat.
Final Thoughts
A good team effort in this one, again without Dahlin. They limited Boston’s chances and it was a close game throughout. They needed Thompson, Cozens or Tuch to get a big goal in this one but it was not to be. Tage in particular had some stone hands tonight.
On and upward it goes, 13 losses in a row.
Last chance to win one before Christmas on Monday night on the road against the Islanders. The game starts at 7:30.