TORONTO - Rasmus Dahlin encapsulated the message from coach Don Granato following the Sabres' 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
"Tomorrow, we have a practice and we've got to work," Dahlin said. "It's got to be my best practice of my life. I need to step up, the team needs to step, and it starts with practice, practice habits. We need to be better."
The loss was Buffalo's eighth in a row. Toronto pulled ahead 3-0 during the first period and staved off comeback attempts in part on the strength of a 2-for-3 night on the power play.
Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt scored power-play goals for the Sabres while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves in his season debut.
Granato addressed the team afterward, emphasizing the need to work their way out of their current rut.
"I do think it boils down to compete," Granato said. "We didn't have enough guys competing hard enough at the start. I think Dahlin and [Tage] Thompson and [Dylan] Cozens are three guys that stick out to me as tremendous competitive players each and every night. They were very competitive tonight, but we didn't have enough [others] with them early."
The Sabres will return to Buffalo for practice on Sunday. They will have another day of practice on Monday before departing for Montreal and a matchup with the Canadiens on Tuesday.
"We have a resilient group," Tuch said. "We haven't showed that lately, but I have a good feeling we're going to show it down the stretch here."
Here's the breakdown from Saturday's game.
Postgame Report | Sabres emphasize work following loss to Leafs
Luukkonen stops 18 shots in 1st start of season
![20221119 Luukkonen Mediawall Toronto Postgame Report Overlay](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_ratio16_9-size20/f_auto/prd/vbpkolrr12u67twnggel.jpg)
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BUF@TOR: Tuch gets in shooting lane, redirects PPG
BUF@TOR: Mittelstadt scores PPG in 3rd period