In Buffalo, it is getting closer to decision time for the Sabres’ brass. They were handed their second straight shutout, 2-0, this time to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Their previous loss was 3-0 to the Montreal Canadiens.
There just doesn’t seem to be much a glimmer of hope for this team.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves to get the shutout win.
“The way [Vasilevskiy’s] been playing at the end of last year and the beginning of this season, it’s been remarkable, and he’s established himself as one of the best goalies in this league, I think,” Tampa’s Victor Hedman said. “Having him back there is helping us a lot.”
Buffalo has lost nine of 10.
“If you’re getting shut out two nights in a row, you’re not going to win, you’re leaving your goaltenders hanging out to dry; they’re playing great,” the Sabres’ Evander Kane said. “You [have] to give them some run support, you [have] to find a way to score goals.”
This may have been one of the easiest shutouts of Vasilevsky’s career.
“I have to look at where we’re at in the standings and where the other team is at,” Sabres head coach Phil Housley said. “I feel we need to play with more desperation from the start of the game. … We have to [have] some attitude when we start the game. This is our home rink. We’ve got to get out and establish a forecheck, show more emotion on the ice.”
Mikhail Sergachev and Dan Girardi had the Bolts’ goals.
[WATCH: All Lightning vs. Sabres highlights]
Robin Lehner made 24 saves in the loss and continues to take loses despite good goaltending.
“We have to be ready to play from the drop of the puck. It’s just not good enough right now. We can’t go through games not scoring goals; we can’t win games that way. It’s not just on the forwards, it’s not just on the [defense] or the goalie. It’s a collective effort. We have to have more pride in this dressing room and we have to find a way,” the Sabres’ Marco Scandella said after the game.
And there in lies the problem for the Sabres; they are not prepared to take the game to the opposition not only at the start of the game but throughout the contest.
There is no early push and they have no response to the opposition.
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