BUFFALO, NY — The Buffalo Sabers aren’t entering the All-Star break exactly as they hoped they would.
Entering their Wednesday night game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Sabers had a chance to beat one of the best teams in the NHL and move into a playoff position before the break. Instead, they took a thorough beating and lost 5-1. Making matters worse, Tage Thompson, the team’s lone All-Star, left the game at the second intermission and did not return after suffering an upper-body injury. Don Granato had no update on his condition after the game and said a decision hadn’t been made on whether he would travel to Florida for the All-Star Game.
Thompson’s injury will loom larger than anything else that happened in this game, but here are a few other takeaways.
1. Coming off a successful road trip with a playoff spot in sight and one of the best teams in the league in town, there was some hope the building might be full. The Sabers have been a better team when that’s the case. It wasn’t a bad crowd (just over 14,000) compared to what the Sabers have been dealing with the last few seasons. But the team didn’t give those in attendance much of a chance to get into the game, either, falling behind 3-0 12:47 into the game.
Granato and the Sabers knew what they were in for against Carolina. Before the game, Granato described the Hurricanes as a team that is “relentless” and will make its opponent work. Even coming off an overtime game Tuesday night and playing their third game in four nights, the Hurricanes flew out of the gate with a 12-3 shots advantage. Their goals were all on passing plays that left goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with little chance to make a save.
“We had to be ready to compete and we weren’t,” Alex Tuch said.
Buffalo Sabers head coach Don Granato watches from the bench during the second period of Wednesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. (Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today)
2. The bye week is coming at a good time for the Sabres. They had three key players missing from practice Monday: Thompson, Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens. All three ended up playing in this game, but Thompson left early. Samuelsson was on the ice for two goals against and five high-danger chances against. Cozens didn’t look like himself at times, either. A lot of players in the NHL are dealing with injuries throughout the season, but the Sabers need those three in particular as healthy as possible, so a 10-day break in the action is well-timed.
3. Before the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour noted something about the Sabers that has become a common refrain from opponents who pass through Buffalo.
“The skill level is as good as any team,” Brind’Amour said. “They have really talented players. It’s a fun team to actually watch. They’re entertaining because they’re scoring on the rush and scoring on a lot of nice plays. They’re free-wheeling it. They’ll give up a lot, but if you play a game where you’re giving them opportunities, they’re going to beat you.”
The key part there is that the Sabers “give up a lot.” Granato has stressed a fast-paced game because he believes offense is harder to teach than defense. He wants his young players to gain confidence and learn to create chances. But the Sabres’ ability to limit chances coming their way will be an important part of how they finish the season as games get tighter and more competitive down the stretch. They allowed nine high-danger chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick. That’s not a winning formula.
4. One encouraging part of this week for the Sabers is that they didn’t shy away from the playoff talk. There’s a tendency for players and coaches to go into autopilot and talk about how each game is just one of 82 and how they need to win the next game. But Sabers players know they’re in the mix, and that’s healthy. They should want that attention, because part of their development will be learning to handle the expectations that come with being in this spot and playing meaningful games down the stretch.
“When you mention playoffs, it’s obvious with the position we’re in that’s going to be the talk,” Granato said. “That’s great. That’s even better. We’re comfortable with that and we’re excited that we’re even mentioned in that.”
Added Tuch: “We’ve got to come out and play with that chip on our shoulder, still prove to the league that we’re a force to be reckoned with and we’re a team that’s going to be in the hunt.
5. Granato singled out the fourth line of Peyton Krebs, Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons when mentioning the positives from this game. The Sabers had 72 percent of the shot attempts and 98 percent of the expected goals when that trio was on the ice. They’ve been a bright spot for the Sabers recently.
Up next: The Sabers don’t play again until Feb. 11 when they host the Flames. After that, they left for a three-game trip in California.
(Top photo of Tage Thompson skating with the puck as the Hurricanes’ Brady Skjei defends: Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today)
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