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Sabres slip at Oilers to close out West Coast road trip

Jan 25, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Buffalo Sabres celebrate a goal scored by forward Alex Tuch (89) during the first period against there Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Buffalo started off poorly and closed strong, but to no avail

Score: Buffalo Sabres 2-3 Edmonton Oilers
Shots: BUF 41-34 EDM

Buffalo Sabres Goals: Tuch (16), Kulich (9)
Edmonton Oilers Goals: Skinner (8), Nugent-Hopkins (14, 15)

Minus 1: A Flat Start

Seconds after puck drop Jiri Kulich found Tage Thompson in on Stuart Skinner, but the Edmonton goaltender was able to corral the puck on second attempt. The Sabres then did not have another look at the Oilers goal until a power play attempt over halfway into the period.

Before all that though James Reimer had to be on top of his game making seven saves. The Oilers might be minus superstar Connor McDavid, but they certainly have plenty of team speed even without him.

After another futile power play where they managed two shots on goal, the Sabres did jump ahead for the 31st time this season through Alex Tuch. Jacob Bryson did well to intercept a long pass in the neutral zone and led the charge forward, found Jason Zucker to his left and the veteran forward found Tuch steaming in from the other wing to beat Skinner.

In true Sabres style though, they let the Oilers pull level within 17 seconds, and it was their former player Jeff Skinner to do it. Reimer wasn’t able to corral Ty Emberson’s point shot and Skinner reacted quickest to tuck the puck home.

There was time for more drama later in the period when a lucky Oilers bounce during a line change almost let in the hosts again. Reimer came charging out to block the puck and got stuck in no-man’s land, but Owen Power made a crucial block on the empty net to keep out Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and keep the score at 1-1 at the first intermission.

Plus 1: Take A Little, Give A Little

The Sabres had their second power play of the game five minutes into the second period with Zack Hyman hooking Mattias Samuelsson. This time around Buffalo looked a lot more potent on the man advantage as they kept Skinner on his heels pumping in seven shots, including a frenzied end to the power play where they were camped in Edmonton’s defensive zone before Kulich’s rocket beat Skinner off the post a second after Hyman’s penalty had expired.

Peyton Krebs took a holding penalty halfway through the period to give the Oilers their first man advantage of the game. Sabres did well to keep Edmonton from creating anything of substance before Beck Malenstyn had a breakaway chance going in alone on Skinner, beating the goalie but not the post. As the penalty ended, Ryan McLeod found Krebs straight out of the penalty box for another breakaway attempt, but Skinner foiled him, getting the rebound too.

And because this is exactly what happens when you don’t take your chances, a couple of minutes later the Oil were level again. Kasperi Kapanen drove to the net and his wraparound attempt was saved by Reimer, but Nugent-Hopkins was on the spot to slide the puck home even as the goalie’s stick was still trapped against the far post where Corey Perry and Dylan Cozens were scrapping. The Sabres coaches looked long and hard at the replays but chose not to challenge the goal for goalie interference.

Minus 2: Can’t Catch A Break

The Sabres have been poor in closing out games, make no mistake. However it looked like Lindy Ruff told them to go out and play their hearts out because Buffalo came out looking like they wanted to win this one. Within the first eight minutes of the third period the Sabres held a 9-1 shot on goal advantage as Skinner was the busier of the two goalies.

However, as has happened way too often, the Sabres conceded an avoidable goal and it all collapsed from there. Nugent-Hopkins had the puck on the right wall, cycled the puck around to Nurse and then evaded JJ Peterka to come in at the back door and score his second of the game with Reimer slow to come across.

Buffalo kept heaping the pressure on Edmonton but the hosts did well blocking shots and mostly keeping the visitors to the perimeter. Kulich thought he had equalized with just under four minutes to go with the puck coming off his skate, but the review determined that it was a distinct kicking motion and negated the score. Hard to be mad about that one.

There was even time with the goalie pulled for Draisatl to skate in all alone on an empty goal and then hit the side netting to give Sabres some more hope, but the visitors could not do more with the two shot attempts they had after that, ending the period with a 19-7 shot advantage.

Final Thoughts

The Sabres closed out the last game of road trip with an encouraging second and third periods, but the inconsistent efforts within each game, and between games means they will continue to occupy the Eastern Conference basement. Every other team in the Atlantic is above .500 in their last ten while the Sabres are now 4-6-0 and thinking about what assets they will be dumping at the trade deadline.

Comment of the Game: I’ll go with acrididea‘s comment on Owen Power’s shot blocking which he never seems to get much credit for.

Funny how every block by Power is pure luck.
It’s something he’s gotten good at over the last few years, yet he gets no credit. More blocks per 60 than Byram, Dahlin or Joki this season. Just behind Sammy.

Honorable mention to Elias Pettersson who never misses a chance to shit on the team he supports, with every bile-filled comment.

And yes, Skinner Skinner Chicken Dinner. I called it, he will score 4 goals.

Next up for Buffalo is the Boston Bruins back at the KeyBank Center on Tuesday evening.

Talking Points