Special teams makes the difference in Sabres' loss to Bruins

Erik Johnson scored the lone goal for the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins inside KeyBank Center on Wednesday, an outcome he felt was largely dictated by special teams.

The Bruins scored on their first three power plays and finished the night 3-for-4. The Sabres went 0-for-6, which included 28 seconds at 5-on-3 and 1:32 at 4-on-3.

“We gave up three goals on the penalty kill, didn’t convert on the power play, (played) even five-on-five,” Johnson said. “Bottom line, special teams, Achilles’ heel for us tonight.”

The Sabres fell behind 1-0 during the first period but had a chance to even the score with four minutes on the power play after Brad Marchand was assessed a pair of minor penalties for cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Bruins, who entered the night with the NHL’s third-ranked penalty kill, killed off the four minutes while only allowing one shot on goaltender Jeremy Swayman.

"The power play was not good," Alex Tuch said. "We didn’t get enough chances. We didn’t get enough opportunities to score, I don’t think. We got to bear down, we got to go back to work tomorrow."

The Bruins went on to score on three consecutive power plays to extend their lead to 4-0 by the end of the second period. Jake DeBrusk passed from behind the Buffalo net to set up Charlie Coyle in front for each of their first two power-play goals. The third was scored by Morgan Geekie, who retrieved a carom off the end boards and banked his shot in off Devon Levi as the goaltender dove toward the post.

The Sabres had not allowed three power-play goals in a single game this season prior to Wednesday.

“You could say the obvious about the power play, but we don’t give up three penalty-kill goals, it’s a tight game all the way through,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.

Johnson scored on a slap shot with Tuch screening Swayman to put the Sabres on the board at the 5:11 mark of the third period. The Sabres finished the night with a 45-34 advantage in 5-on-5 shot attempts, according to Natural Stat Trick, while high-danger attempts were even at five apiece.

Boston’s lone even-strength goal opened the scoring 4:19 into the contest, when a turnover led to a shot from the slot for James van Riemsdyk and a rebound opportunity for Mason Lohrei. The Sabres had controlled play for much of the opening four minutes prior to Lohrei’s goal.

“The first four minutes of pressure and execution for us, we had some grind to our game, and we didn’t have that consistently,” Granato said. “We had it right out of the gate. We didn’t have enough.”

Here's more from the loss to Boston.

1. Rasmus Dahlin skated 25:52 and had five shots on goal and 13 shot attempts. He blocked two shots on an empty net with the Sabres trailing 4-1 and about two minutes remaining.

“He seems to be OK," Granato said. "And he’s an ultra-competitor, which you can see. So, great job by him.”

2. Tuch was asked postgame about the Sabres’ performance on the power play. The group ranks 26th in the NHL with Thompson, Tuch, Jeff Skinner, and Jack Quinn all having missed varying amounts of time with injuries. They ranked ninth in the league last season.

“We’re overthinking everything,” Tuch said. “We’re double-touching pucks. I’m double-touching on the goal line, putting them out of guys’ reach, shooting when we shouldn’t, we’re not shooting when we should. We’re passing up good opportunities, we’re not supporting each other. It just kind of adds up.

“… We had one of the best power plays in the league last year and maybe go back to it, but it’s confidence, it’s swagger. We obviously don’t have it right now, and we’re going to work to get it back.”

Up next

The Sabres host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at 5 p.m. It will be the last of four “WinterFest” games, with a “Winter Wonderland” theme featuring family activities in the concourse, a take-home photo opportunity, and an outdoor market. Find more information here.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+  begins at 4:30. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550