Sabres unable to overcome slow start in loss to Avs

Kyle Okposo had little interest in discussing an overturned goal after a 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
Okposo's would-be goal came late in the first period, when the Buffalo Sabres were already attempting to claw their way back from a 3-0 deficit. He wasn't sure if he agreed with the ruling that he had interfered with Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov but, frankly, he didn't think it mattered all that much.
What did matter, to Okposo and to the other leaders in the dressing room, was that the Sabres were down three goals in the first place.

"I think it would've been nice to get out of [the first period] 3-1, but we deserved to be down 3-0," Okposo said. "I mean, we didn't play well enough in the first period. Like, it was bad. We can't have that. We just dug ourselves a whole. Second period we played pretty good, third period we played pretty good. But that's too late. You have to play every night, every period in this league."
"Truthfully," added goaltender Carter Hutton, "I think the game's over in the first period there."
The Sabres entered the game coming off back-to-back wins at home, including a 4-2 victory over reigning Western Conference champion Vegas on Monday. In those games, Phil Housley praised his team's careful puck management and attention to detail defensively.
Housley felt those same qualities were absent in the first period on Thursday. Colorado got on the board with power-play goals from Tyson Jost and Colin Wilson, which stemmed from hooking and tripping minors that Housley said were indicative of the Sabres not moving their feet.
Carl Soderberg scored the third goal for the Avalanche with 3:30 remaining in the opening period, unchecked as he shot off an offensive-zone draw. The Sabres played better in the second and third periods, but special teams proved to be a difference. They were 0-for-7 on the power play despite peppering Varlamov with 13 shots.
Okposo said he could trace the team's early bad habits to their practice on Wednesday.

"I didn't like our practice yesterday," he said. "I just thought it was sloppy. It was a lot like how we played the first period. I mean, we just weren't crisp. All year we've been really dialed in and really ready to go.
"Everybody's been focused and focused on what we need to do. Tonight, it was just a little bit … feeling a little bit good about ourselves."
Therein lies the learning opportunity for a young team that will carry a .500 record into its upcoming five-game road trip, which begins Saturday in Arizona. Okposo, Hutton and Housley agreed that learning to handle consecutive wins is part of the process for the Sabres moving forward.
Hutton was optimistic that they'll take the lesson in stride.
"It's one of those things, in my experiences, sometimes it's the grind of winning, too," he said. "It's not easy, it doesn't just come. I think that's something we have to learn too, we have to embrace that grind. I think it's something we will [learn].
"We have a really good group in here. We're going to bounce back here, guys have to learn how to do that. I think we'll take pride in coming back here tomorrow and going to work and taking it on the road here."

Dahlin's first point

Rasmus Dahlin earned the primary assist on Beaulieu's second-period goal, marking the first point of his NHL career. Dahlin was battling Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov along the half wall, helping to force an errant pass that found Beaulieu at the blue line.

Dahlin kept making noise from that point on. He was stopped on a point-blank one-timer from the edge of the crease on his very next shift. Later, he upended Avalanche forward Gabriel Bourque as he attempted to exit the Colorado zone. He finished with four shot attempts in 18:09.
"I thought Rasmus was outstanding tonight," Beaulieu said. "He controlled the puck real well in the offensive zone."

Up next

The Sabres meet the Arizona Coyotes to begin a season-long five-game road trip on Saturday night. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 8:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 9.
The Sabres return home to host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Oct. 25.