It just does not get any better in Buffalo these days.
The Sabres suffered their third straight shutout, this time 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
There is no push back, there is no heart and no resistance to the opposition any longer.
Rookie goalie Tristan Jarry made 34 saves to get the win.
“I think it’s something that I’ll be able to look back on hopefully in a while and be able to realize that it happened and it’ll be a nice memory to have,” Jarry said.
Sidney Crosby scored a goal and had two points in the win.
“When you get up a few goals like that early, those games can be challenging,” Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said. “We talked about in between periods just making sure that we don’t exhale, that we continue to try and work to get the next goal and play hard and play the right way, and for the most part, I think we did a good job.”
Pittsburgh got a goal off the penalty by Tom Kuhnhackl.
Patric Hornqvist and Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh.
By the end, the Penguins were simply toying with the Sabres.
“Our coaching staff comes up with a game plan, and I just don’t think we’re executing our game plan,” Sabres head coach Phil Housley said. “We’re playing a backup goaltender. I think we didn’t take advantage of that tonight. We came close, but you can’t give a good team like that two goals to start the game.”
[WATCH:Â All Penguins vs. Sabres highlights]
Robin Lehner. took the loss on saves.
“There’s really no explanation,” Lehner said. “This is very mentally tough right now. There’s not an excuse, there is no excuse, for where we’re at and how things are going, but it’s the reality right now, and somehow we have to deal with it.”
Lehner at least was not looking to make excuses even as the back-up as he was ferred to by his head coach.
“I think the message has been great. I think what’s drawn up or what we’re told to do, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s up to us in here; it’s only up to us. Last year, it was only up to us, the year before it was up to us too,” Lehner said after the loss. “It’s each and every one in here doing what we’re told on a consistent basis. We let in goals when we’re not doing what we’re told. We’re not scoring goals; we’re not doing what we’re told. It’s as simple as that.”
Interestingly, in Buffalo, you never hear from the “stars” on the team after a loss. No one seems to be stepping up to take responsibility or blame for the losing.
That needs to stop.
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