It may not have been possible for the Buffalo Sabres season to have gotten off to a worse start, as the club struggled to maintain any level of consistency in a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on a holiday Monday matinee. The Sabres have started the campaign at 0-3, lost center Josh Norris to an upper body injury, and have struggled to generate any consistent offensive attack.
“The start the season is not where you want to be at all, and we’ve just got to find a way to win here.” Sabres winger Tage Thompson said after the game. “We’re struggling to score, which in turn means we’re not winning. That’s what it is right now, and that’s it’s on me. I gotta find ways to score more and bear down, generate more chances. But that’s a situation where we’re in right now and we’ve got to find a way out.”
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Buffalo were shutout in the season opener by Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin, but managed only a third period goal from Jason Zucker in a 3-1 loss in Boston on Saturday. On Monday, Thompson scored his first of the season, responding to Nathan MacKinnon’s opening goal in the first period, but Cale Makar and MacKinnon put the Avalanche ahead in the second period, and Buffalo showed a surprising lack of urgency in the final frame, managing only four shots on goal on Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood.
“I didn’t like our third, I thought we were overplaying (our) top-four (defense) I don’t think we got up ice enough to help our forwards out and they broke it out quicker.” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. “Some of our execution, leaving the zone, it wasn’t near as clean as it was in the first two periods.”
For the second straight home game, Sabres fans booed the club for their effort and on Monday chants for the firing of GM Kevyn Adams were heard for the first time. Buffalo four of their next five games at home and has to be hoping for a quick reversal of their fortunes, otherwise the chants for change will grow louder.
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