You literally can’t win them all in an 82-game season, but in a run-and-fun-and-gun 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Buffalo Sabres sometimes the chances get stopped.
BUFFALO — There’s a glass half-full, glass half-empty philosophical argument that happens when a team gets beaten by a goalie having a great night and sometimes they’re both right.
During the Sabres’ 3-2 loss to the Oilers on Monday night, Edmonton rookie goalie Stuart Skinner had one hell of a night. He made 37 saves and held the ever-potent Buffalo offense to two goals. Any team, any night against the Sabres will take that and run away and hide with it win or lose.
From the Sabres point of view, they can be pleased with the performance and how the chances they generated made Edmonton have to earn every bit of the game. Via NaturalStatTrick.com, the scoring chances in all situations were 35-33 in favor of Buffalo and at 5-on-5 they were 30-28 in favor of Edmonton, negligible differences. The Oilers carried the game with the advantage in shot attempts and expected goals and all that fun stuff, but the Sabres had numerous high-quality opportunities snuffed out by Skinner.
These things happen.
“I thought we had great energy all the way through the game,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “That’s No. 1, we need to be dialed in, focused, play with energy, play with pace. A combination of all that is how we want to play. So the one thing we need to do is play the way we want to play, and I felt we did that tonight.”
A team doing what they want to do but ultimately being denied and coming out on the short end of things happens in a season plenty of times. It also happens in reverse where a team plays like total crap and rolls out of the building with two points. Sports are funny like that, and you knew that already. Nine times out 10 if the Sabres play a game with that kind of pace and attack, they’re going to come away with some sort of reward.
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“It’s a lot of back and forth, it’s the kind of game you want to play quick transition, quick up,” Dylan Cozens said. “It was a pretty even-sided game, both teams were going back and forth. That’s one we hoped we could’ve got a point out of, but we’ve got a big game tomorrow against the Islanders so we need to reset and get ready for that one.”
Taking a loss, getting mad about it, and hopping on a plane for a legitimately big game the next night really is the kind of on-the-job training for the playoffs you want for your team. A point against Edmonton would’ve been a good way to feel a little better about things, but that’s hockey.
There is the pessimistic view to take out of the game as well. If you choose to sit in your feelings and analyze and probably over-analyze the game, there are some key points to chew on.
You head into a game against Connor McDavid knowing he’s the best in the world and that trying to keep him off the score sheet is one of the main objectives. Seeing him score twice, including the game-winner in the third period, can make the whole night feel like a failure. Getting beat by the best player doesn’t come with shame, but with more a feeling of the “You had one job,” meme. Accepting that he’ll get his pound of flesh would keep you from blowing your stack, but it still won’t feel good in the end.
“You’re trying to avoid him getting the puck with speed,” Casey Mittelstadt said. “That’s when he’s dangerous. Definitely hard to catch. I thought we did a good job of it for most of the night.”
He’s right.
McDavid was credited with three shots in the game. Of course, he scored on two of them which will never look great without context. Then again, the context of the goals might lead to more gloomy reactions.
His first tally came on a bouncing puck that went to him behind the net and he beat Craig Anderson on a wraparound. A wacky instance, some scattering defensive coverage, and ultimately another goal for No. 97.
Goal No. 2 came on a quick rush through the slot in which Jacob Bryson got a bit crossed up because of McDavid’s ability to burst through with more speed at a moment’s notice. Bryson did everything possible to get in his way with the body and his stick, but it didn’t matter because McDavid was able to reach away from those attempts while still driving the net. He then beat Anderson with a shot through the five-hole that doesn’t review kindly in many eyes.
If it were a fourth line player doing it that would be quite a rough goal to allow. When it’s McDavid is it fair to judge it through the same lens? I’d argue it certainly is not fair, but in the wake of a loss in a well-played game for the most part, it’s a bitter pill to choke down even if it is Connor McDavid.
“We talk a lot about momentum shifts and that’s an area as a team we want to get better at,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I would say this: You’re going to Connor, and that’s the finish. I saw a lot of really good plays that led up to that goal. First off, Connor, defensively in the neutral zone was above his check, forced them to dump it in. Mattias Ekholm made a heck of a play in order to advance the puck. And then what I saw Warren Foegele do I was beyond impressed with. So, you know, there’s a lot of good plays that led to that finish. And the finish was all world.”
Whether you decide to harp upon Sabres goaltending after that, that’s your call, although I’d argue that Anderson has earned a little bit of leeway. Critical of the defensive play in key moments, however, is warranted. The Sabres were without Mattias Samuelsson and Riley Stillman, both day-to-day with upper-body injuries, and certainly Samuelsson’s presence was missed. But you have to go with what you have and certainly Bryson and Kale Clague are not on the same level as Samuelsson. It is what it is, but the Sabres do need more consistent play from guys on the blue line not named Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power.
Losses never feel good, particularly in a juiced-up building on a national media platform, but the Sabres got to play their kind of game on Monday, and they looked very good throughout it. You can’t win them all, but efforts like that will win our more often than not.
Something to keep an eye on
Something to look out for against the Islanders, and perhaps beyond, is the play of the line of Cozens, Mittelstadt, and Vinnie Hinostroza. They played at a very high pace against Edmonton and generated a lot of opportunities, particularly in the third period. Mittelstadt’s confidence in his shot is growing and Cozens’ all-around play continues to be very good. Hinostroza’s chemistry with Cozens is very noticeable and Mittelstadt has tapped into that as well.
They all play well along the walls and in the corners, they’re winning puck battles, and they’re playing creatively on offense. We’ve seen and talked a ton about lines coming together and providing a spark beyond the top line, but to see this trio working very well is very encouraging, particularly for what it’s doing for Mittelstadt.
“They play at a great pace,” Granato said. “They do and have shown great chemistry. Even in practice you can see it, you can see the enthusiasm they have. They’re in a rhythm right now, they’re finding each other at high-speed and high-tempo hockey, and it’s a good time to be doing it. I know they put the work in to continue.”