The Buffalo Sabres dropped their sixth straight loss in their first-ever matchup against the Utah Hockey Club, 5-2. The losing streak is Buffalo’s longest of the season, as the Sabres have plummeted to 12th in the Eastern Conference. The home crowd grew restless throughout the game, dishing out boos, “Fire Kevyn”, and “Where is Terry?” chants as the deficit grew larger.
After having his first NHL goal overturned by a goalie interference challenge in his first career game, Tyson Kozak put the Sabres on the board first. The Sabres were the better team in the first period before things started to slip.
Utah scored five straight goals in the second and third periods, with tallies from Michael Kesselring, Mikhail Sergachev, Nick Schmaltz, Jack McBain, and Kevin Stenlund. Jiri Kulich countered with a goal late in the third that only made the game appear a bit closer than it was.
Execution
The loss comes a day after general manager Kevyn Adams failed to provide tangible answers for the Sabres’ position in the standings. Head coach Lindy Ruff was visibly frustrated, pointing to execution as the main problem.
“You look at the second goal, it should be our puck,” Ruff said. “We run into the referee. The fourth goal, we have a chance to make the game 3-2 – lack of execution. Now you’re on a long shift.”
The entire flow of Buffalo’s game was thrown off, including putting themselves offside numerous times.
“You can’t explain it. You can’t explain offside to a man. I mean, maybe a tight one you can. But when you’re offside by a foot or so it eliminates an opportunity.”
Execution is an ironic word to harp on after a game like this. If the Sabres keep up this trend, jobs will be executed next.
Tyson Kozak
Buffalo’s latest rookie callup, Tyson Kozak, was great on Thursday as the team’s fourth-line center. His line was the Sabres’ best again, between Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
Kozak is earning a longer look with the big club, which creates a problem. The Sabres already have too many players slotted higher than they should be in the lineup.
Peyton Krebs, Ryan McLeod, and Sam Lafferty have all centered the fourth line. Lafferty is out with a lower-body injury but has contributed little this season. Krebs is an all-effort player at this point in his career but is not producing to warrant a top-nine role.
McLeod looks like a lost player without Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker on his wings. The Sabres acquired him with the third-line center role in mind, but Jiri Kulich’s emergence is muddying the waters.
Bowen Byram
One positive to highlight is the way Bowen Byram has stepped up as the go-to player on the blueline in Rasmus Dahlin’s absence. Byram got off to a rocky start this season, but his ability to drive offense at a high level is really starting to show.
Heading into Saturday’s game, Byram ranked in the 88th percentile in even-strength offense per PuckLuck’s wins-above-replacement model. The WAR metrics place him sixth-best on the Sabres as his surge to prominence continues.
What’s Next
The Sabres continue their homestand against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. Detroit sits a point behind Buffalo heading into their Saturday evening matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. The Sabres will look to capitalize on facing an opponent in their standings tier as they try to break the losing streak.
