Buffalo Crumbles Under Avalanche Pressure in Second and Final Matchup of the Season
Score: Avalanche 5 | Sabres 1
Shots: BUF 30 | COL 30
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Zach Benson (3)
Colorado Avalanche Goals: Mikko Rantanen (14), Valeri Nichushkin (11, 12-PP), Miles Wood (5), Sam Malinski (1)
Minus 1: We’ve Seen This Movie Before
2-0 lead in the first period by the opposition. Does this sound familiar? It seems as though the Sabres have been a shell of themselves during every opening period these last few weeks and tonight was no different. Well, it was a little different because Colorado rubbed some salt in the wound by adding an extra goal in there to make it 3-0 within the first 10+ minutes of play. The first of three goals was buried after a turnover by Buffalo and some solid puck play by Nathan MacKinnon to set up Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen’s goal. And, of course, it was all downhill from there. The Avs buried those first three goals before the Sabres even got a shot on net, too. Woof.
Plus 1: Buffalo Scored in the First Period!
Though it looked bleak as the clock counted down to the first intermission, the Sabres were able to offer fans a glimmer of hope thanks to Zach Benson. It was initially Ramus Dahlin with the shot that rebounded off of goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to give Benson the opportunity to show off his quick hands as the puck flew past the stick side of Prosvetov. This gave Buffalo not only their first goal of the game, but their first shot as well.
Interestingly enough, after the first period, Colorado led in shots, 15-6 but then the tables turned in the second period as Buffalo led 15-3. The score remained at 3-1 in favor of the home team moving into the final period, though.
Minus 2: Skinner Out
Another misfortune tonight was Jeff Skinner’s exit from the game in the second period. While he did come back for a brief shift on a power play, he did not return after that due to a rough hit from MacKinnon. We will be crossing our fingers that he can ‘break free’ soon and that the upper-body injury is not serious.
Final Thoughts
The Sabres, once again, failed to show up for a full 60 minutes (or for a full period, if we are being honest) and it showed on the scoreboard as they fell 5-1 to Colorado. Buffalo went 0-2 on the power play, which is pretty much expected at this point. Time to put another disappointing game behind us and move forward, right? Right?!