The Buffalo Sabres are in danger of going into their early season swoon.
On Saturday night, their offense abandoned them again and subjected another goalie to a hard luck, 1-0, loss.
This time it was to the New York Islanders; for the Isles, it was their ninth straight win.
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to get the shutout win.
“I think we did a lot of good things today. The team battled all game. It wasn’t an easy one,” Varlamov said. “We scored in the first period and they were coming. They are a good team and a tough team to play against. We did an unbelievable job I would say in the penalty killing, blocking the shots. We did a lot of good things today.”
Derick Brassard scored the game’s only goal in the first period.
“Everybody is playing for each other,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “Make it hard on whoever we play. Play the way we need to play against a team that we are playing, because everybody is a little bit different. Understand the situation and be fully committed to doing your job well. … They know that they have to rely on each other, and they do.”
Buffalo dropped to 9-4-2.
“I thought we came back after maybe our worst game of the year [Friday, a 6-1 loss against the Washington Capitals], I thought we came back tonight and we competed hard,” Jack Eichel said. “We put a lot on them. They’re a really good hockey team.
“You can talk about their defense, what they do, obviously they make it tough. It’s not easy. They’re one of the best defensive teams in the League for a reason, but we had our chances.”
[WATCH: All Islanders vs. Sabres highlights]
Carter Hutton made 20 saves in the loss.
“I’m on my post and he goes to center it, and it hits off [Colin] Miller and it redirects off like the top of my pad and in,” Hutton said. “I’m going to look out into the slot, it redirects and bounces in. Obviously, an unfortunate break.”
Any goalie signing in Buffalo should have an escape clause in the contract that pays them more or permits them to walk away when the Sabres’ offense disappears.
You must be logged in to post a comment.