Kaprizov’s early goal is the game-winner.
Score: Buffalo Sabres 0 | Minnesota Wild 1
Shots: BUF 39 | MIN 29
Buffalo Sabres Goals: None
Minnesota Wild Goals: Kirill Kaprizov (14)
Minus 1: Kaprizov’s Early Tally
The Sabres found themselves down 1-0 less than seven minutes into the game, and it was a brutal goal. After Buffalo’s top line had a few chances at one end, four Sabres players were near the goal line when Rasmus Dahlin turned the puck over. Dahlin’s turnover, combined with a lack of a player stepping in to cover his spot, led to a 4-on-1 opportunity in the other direction. At that point, there’s not a whole lot the remaining defender (Henri Jokiharju) or the goaltender (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen) can do.
The good news, if there is any? This won’t be the most embarrassing goal of the night in the NHL, as Caps goalie Charlie Lindgren scored an own goal – and gave the Lightning the lead. Thankfully for him, Washington rallied back to tie and win it, but… sheesh.
Minus 2: Can’t Buy a Goal
Putting aside the fact that the Sabres simply could not get the puck in the net, it was not for lack of trying. The top line of JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch looked sharp. The trio combined for 13 shots on goal, with an additional 11 attempts blocked and 5 missed shots.
However, the second line combined (Benson-Cozens-Krebs) for just four shots on goal, with an additional two missed shots and five attempts blocked. You need more from that second line, especially given that the third line (Zucker-Kulich-Quinn) actually put up some decent numbers: 12 shots on goal, 3 attempts blocked and three missed shots.
The Sabres finished the game with 39 shots on goal, but also had 32 additional attempts blocked and missed 16 shots. That is a whopping 87 shot attempts, and not a single one found its way into the net.
Final Thoughts
Seeing the Sabres’ three-game winning streak come to an end with a 1-0 loss on Wednesday night stings. They put so many shots toward the net, and I don’t have the numbers on how many were high-quality or what have you, but it really felt like they had some great moments in the second and third periods. They put a lot of pressure on the Wild and certainly had opportunities. They just needed one, and it wasn’t there.
There were also several moments during the game where it felt like the Wild should have gotten a penalty and didn’t. The first that comes to mind is when old friend Marcus Foligno took out Jack Quinn after the whistle. Instead of getting a penalty, Foligno simply got escorted to the Minnesota bench. Later in the game, Minnesota very clearly had too many skaters (as many as seven!) on the ice and touched the puck by the bench, but got away with it. You can’t blame the game on those missed calls, but it doesn’t help.
The Sabres get one of their best players back in the lineup after injury, and the team’s three-game winning sreak ends. Go figure! Them’s the breaks, I suppose. Ah well. Time to enjoy some turkey and family time for those of us in the U.S., before the team is back at it on Black Friday for a rare 3 p.m. faceoff against the Vancouver Canucks.