Sabres fall to Blues despite season-high shot total

ST. LOUIS – Casey Mittelstadt felt even trailing 3-0, the Buffalo Sabres were controlling the play against the St. Louis Blues inside Enterprise Center on Thursday.

The Sabres rallied back from that deficit during the second period and finished the night with a 46-20 edge in shots but lost 6-4 to a Blues team that made the most of its chances. 

“I mean, personally, I think there’s definitely a few I should have put away,” Mittelstadt said. “It definitely stings. … A few (chances) go their away, a few don’t go ours, and that’s the game.”

Rasmus Dahlin, Zach Benson, and Peyton Krebs all scored to bring the Sabres back from their three-goal deficit. The Sabres held a 12-2 shot advantage in the second period at the time of Krebs’ tying goal with 9:07 remaining, prompting the Blues to call a timeout. 

The Sabres nearly took the lead coming out of that timeout on a breakaway chance for JJ Peterka that was turned away by Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington. Instead, the Blues responded with two goals scored 24 seconds apart by Kevin Hayes and Brayden Schenn to restore their lead before intermission.

Jake Neighbours scored his second goal of the night on an odd-man rush to extend the Blues' lead back to three goals early in the third period. Sabres coach Don Granato attributed the Blues’ chances to overcomplication with the puck exiting the defensive zone.

“The degree of difficulty on a few plays was a little bit too high,” Granato said. “You’ve got nothing left but to learn from it I guess, but very frustrating.”

The Sabres pulled goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with roughly four minutes remaining in an attempt to stage one more comeback, after which Peterka scored their final goal of the night.

The Sabres’ 46 shots were their most in a game this season, coming on the heels of a 39-shot victory over the New York Rangers on Monday. Binnington’s night included a breakaway stop on Mittelstadt in addition to his save on Peterka, as well as multiple saves on Benson from in front of the net.

“We had swagger, confidence in O-zone, on the rush,” Dahlin. “We created a lot, so we take that with us to the next one.”

“I think you saw a lot of Sabres hockey out there with the chances and the way we were creating,” Mittelstadt added.

The Sabres outshot the Blues 15-8 during the first period despite the early deficit. Brandon Saad opened the scoring 1:08 into the contest on a quick shot off a faceoff win in the Buffalo zone. Schenn scored a power-play goal on another shot off a draw, then Neighbours added a goal on a rebound.

“It kind of felt like it was 3-0 and we weren’t really playing bad,” Mittelstadt said. “I thought we were controlling the play and (had) a couple bad bounces early in the game. It’s going to happen throughout the year and we know that.”

Here’s more from the loss in St. Louis.

1. Dahlin buried a one-timer from the point to put the Sabres on the board with 6:28 remaining in the first period. Kyle Okposo assisted on the play to extend his point streak to four games.

2. Benson’s goal came on his fourth shot of the night, a spinning attempt from the right faceoff circle after Dylan Cozens won a draw during the second period. The 18-year-old also tallied an assist and drew a penalty in 15:36.

3. Krebs scored his first goal of the season on a long rebound off a shot from Dahlin, with Okposo driving the net to help create the play. Dahlin and Krebs each finished with a goal and an assist.

4. Jordan Greenway was back in the lineup after missing two games due to a personal matter. He stepped in for Connor Clifton, with the Sabres reverting to a 12-forward, six-defensemen lineup after dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Rangers.

Up next

The stretch of road games concludes Saturday night in Carolina. The pregame show on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.