Postgame Report | Sabres fall short against Oilers at home

Coming into Monday night's matchup with Edmonton, the Buffalo Sabres knew they'd have to keep pace with the high-flying Oilers.
What they didn't anticipate was having to solve Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, who made 36 saves and erased several scoring chances as the Sabres fell in a tight, 3-2 game to the Oilers on Monday at KeyBank Center.
"He made a lot of big saves. He made a lot of saves on me early in the game in the second period," Dylan Cozens said. "He made a lot of saves on everyone. You're going to run into hot goalies sometimes, so you've got to find a way to get greasy goals. They're not all going to be pretty."
Despite the close score, Monday night's game was full of end-to-end action. The two teams combined for 35 shots over the course of the first 20 minutes, but each team only found the back of the net once.

"We missed the net quite a few times, too, on some point-blank chances that now, after the fact, it's very frustrating, because that turned out to be the difference in the game," head coach Don Granato said. "We generated more than enough to win that game."
Buffalo planned to clog the neutral zone, in an effort to force Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and company to set up shop on the perimeter. McDavid had only three shot attempts, but he proved he doesn't need many chances to make a team pay.
The Oilers captain scored twice, with his third-period tally proving to be the difference. He also set a career-high with 124 points, which leads the NHL by a wide margin. Teammate Leon Draisaitl is second in scoring with 96 points.
"He's got 50-plus for a reason. He doesn't need many," Granato said. "He's done that to lots of teams and goaltenders, and he was ready for his opportunities. That's what makes him special."
Jeff Skinner and Cozens each scored for the Sabres as they erased a pair of deficits but ultimately came up short. Buffalo couldn't convert with goalie Craig Anderson on the on bench and an extra attacker on the ice, registering three shots in a frantic final two minutes.
"We think that game could've gone either way, for sure. I think we played good for pretty much a full 60, just sometimes you don't win them," Cozens said. "I think their goalie stood on his head and made a lot of huge saves for them. Sometimes, when it goes like that we've got to go to the net, crash the net, and find a way to get greasy goals."
Anderson made 34 saves and Buffalo's power-play went 1-for-2 thanks to Skinner's first period goal. The Sabres' PK unit was a perfect 1-for-1, holding the league's best power play scoreless.

"We stayed on it. I thought we had great energy all the way through the game," Granato said. "We just didn't convert enough, and that happens, and it's unfortunate, but we got to move on and move on fast."

How it happened

FIRST PERIOD
The Sabres and Oilers each got on the board during the first 20 minutes.
Edmonton fired 20 shots at Anderson while Buffalo registered 15 shots on goal during the first.
McDavid found the back of the net first, scoring his 53rd goal on a wraparound 7:21 into the game.
Just over two minutes later, Edmonton forward Zach Hyman took a holding penalty at 9:02 that allowed the Sabres potent power play to go to work.
Tage Thompson rang one off the post to begin the man advantage and seconds later, he found Skinner for a one-timer to even the score at 1-1.

SECOND PERIOD
The Sabres largely controlled play in the second period, with a 13-6 edge in shots, but couldn't break through on Edmonton's Skinner.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins appeared to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead five minutes into the second, but the apparent goal was overturned after the Buffalo successfully challenged that the play was offside.
Zemgus Girgensons was shaken up on a hit by Edmonton's Nick Bjugstad and briefly left the game. Sabres' head coach Don Granato was forced to shuffle his lines with Girgensons on the bench. He returned later in the period and finished the game with 11:06 of ice time.
Despite only registering six shots in the second, Edmonton cashed in as Derek Ryan beat Anderson on the glove side with 1:15 remaining to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.
THIRD PERIOD
Cozens tied the game 47 seconds into the third period with his 24th goal of the season. Cozens made a nifty play, shielding the puck from Draisaitl and beating Skinner with a wrist shot as he spun around.

McDavid put Edmonton back in front just over two minutes later, his second tally of the night. The two teams both registered 11 shots on goal in the final frame.

What we learned

1. Jordan Greenway, acquired in a trade with Minnesota on Friday, made his debut for the Sabres against Edmonton. Greenway finished the game with 12:07 ice time, one shot and three hits. He started the game on a line with Girgensons and captain Kyle Okposo, but due to the injury to Girgensons, played mostly with Peyton Krebs and Victor Olofsson.
   2. The Sabres also dealt with a trio of new injuries heading into the game. Mattias Samuelsson, Riley Stillman and Tyson Jost all missed the game with ailments. The team is also without forward Alex Tuch, who has now missed five games with a lower-body injury.
   3. Skinner's goal in the first period, his 27th of the season gave him 63 points on the season, matching a career-high that he's hit four other times.
   4. Thompson's assist on Skinner's goal puts him at 83 points this season. It marked the highest point total by a Sabre since Daniel Briere registered 95 points and Thomas Vanek recorded 84 points during the 2006-2007 season.

Up next

The Sabres travel to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
New York was idle Monday night and currently holds the top Wild Card spot in the East with 72 points. After Monday night's loss to the Oilers, the Sabres still have three games in-hand on the Islanders. Buffalo currently has 68 points through 62 games.
The game will stream live on ESPN+ and Hulu beginning at 7:30 p.m. and can be heard on the radio on WGR 550.