Game 7: Shooting a lot but not enough
Sabres put up 45 shots, but passed on too many on the way to a 3-2 loss to Montreal
BUFFALO — Sabres fans at KeyBank Center yelled, “shoot” a lot throughout the home team’s 3-2 loss to the Canadiens on Thursday night but looking at the final shot totals would make you think they had maybe a few too many Blue Lights. After all, when you outshoot a team 45-34 that should be plenty enough shots to win most games.
This wasn’t one of those games.
Forty-five shots are a lot and when it comes from 71 total shot attempts over 60 minutes, the Sabres certainly didn’t lose for a lack of trying. But the Sabres proved Wayne Gretzky to be right, you do miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. And there were a lot of them that could’ve been great chances that they opted not to take.
“I think the second period was our big, big opportunity,” coach Don Granato said after the game. “I think there we complicated some things. We could’ve been a little more intense going to the net, maybe scoring a goal there. I think we tried to pass the puck in the net. We’re feeling good about puck movement and possession time but lacked that killer instinct.”
It’s a cliché about “passing the puck in the net” but it’s entirely accurate. More than a few drives to the goal—which saw what appeared to be a golden opportunity for a scoring chance—were passed off to a teammate to have a possible better opportunity that never materialized or was taken away.
Sabres players were frustrated and obviously not happy with the loss. It was a game in which they never had a lead but were able to tie it up twice. Once with Jeff Skinner’s first goal of the season, a power play goal no less, early in the second period and again with 7:06 left in the third when Dylan Cozens rifled a shot past Sam Montembeault with a little help from a drive-by, leaping screen by Victor Olofsson.
But a Josh Anderson goal with 3:46 to play, one that came seconds after Sabres goalie Eric Comrie made an incredible save, sealed the deal for the Habs. It’s not what you want, but let’s take a look at this through the more human lens.
After the Sabres 5-1 loss to Seattle on Tuesday night, the team stayed overnight to sleep it off and flew back to Buffalo on Wednesday. They spent most of the day on the plane traveling and didn’t arrive until around 4:30 in the afternoon, according to Granato after morning skate. That’s a long-ass day.
If you’ve never traveled across time zones before, the way the time adjustments mess with your body clock are rough. Frankly, it’s rude as hell and, in my experiences, going from west to east was a lot more difficult than east to west. Think about it, your travel time is the same but hours in the day melt away while you’re in the air. After being in Mountain and Pacific time for the past 10 days, it’s tough to get back on the normal Eastern Time clock. Maybe it’s easier for professional athletes, but for most of the rest of us schmoes it’s really difficult going back to what’s normal.
That can be construed as an excuse and probably functions as one if you want it to, but facts are facts and sometimes we really dislike facts. Getting the comforts of home is nice to have, but for a team missing two top defensemen on top of everything else, it’s somewhat impressive they put up 45 shots and only dropped the game 3-2. Then again, maybe that’s lipstick on a pig, too.
Trying to get back to normal from a trip which had as many practices as players knocked out of the lineup meant the morning skate was conducted more like a practice. The upcoming schedule doesn’t lighten up either. The Sabres have home games against Chicago Saturday, Detroit on Monday, and Pittsburgh on Wednesday to wrap a four-game homestand. Perhaps getting right back into the regular grind helps guys get their bodies back on track timewise. Hockey players are creatures of routine after all.
Nerd Notes
Granato mentioned that the second period was their chance to take over the game, but if you compared that to what the advanced numbers say, you might be confused. At 5-on-5, Montreal had a distinct advantage with expected goals at 61.1 percent that period. That period, however, was when the Sabres power play had their opportunities.
Kirby Dach’s hooking penalty from the first period carried over to the second and that’s when Skinner’s goal occurred. They had two other power plays during the period they were unable to cash in on. This is a prime example of how the lack of cohesiveness on the man advantage is hurting them. There were moments where the power play looked better, but in the end, Buffalo was 1-for-4 on it.
There were a couple of adjustments to the power play tonight. Casey Mittelstadt and Jack Quinn swapped units and although Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power practiced with their usual groups during morning skate, they also swapped spots. Here’s a look at the setup.
Unit One
Kyle Okposo
Casey Mittelstadt — Dylan Cozens — Victor Olofsson
Rasmus Dahlin
Unit Two
Alex Tuch
Tage Thompson — Jeff Skinner — Jack Quinn
Owen Power
After one game with a handful of looks, but one power play goal, it’ll need further evaluation to see if it works. At the very least, puck movement with Dahlin’s group was more evident and how opposing PK’s have to respect Dahlin’s shot and skill from up high, it opened things up for Olofsson pretty well. Getting him going, particularly on the power play, would go a long way.