Postgame Report | Sabres blanked by Flyers on home ice

The Buffalo Sabres were unable to get any pucks past Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson and fell to Philadelphia 4-0 on Monday at KeyBank Center.
Sabres coach Don Granato thought that the team looked drained following an emotional week last week and couldn't get into a rhythm.
"They just had a really difficult time executing things that they execute simple," Granato said. "They didn't look like themselves. We fought the puck all night and we didn't look fast. We were struggling to move pucks. Just one of those very challenging nights we just couldn't find it, couldn't find the spark."
"We're right back at it tomorrow and I think that's a good thing to move past this one quicker. I know a lot of our guys, they take this home with them and take it pretty hard. Hopefully we can funnel it the right way for a better outcome tomorrow."
Goaltender Craig Anderson made 34 saves in net while Ersson stopped all 28 shots he faced.
Zack MacEwen, Joel Farabee, Noah Cates and Wade Allison scored for the Flyers.
Buffalo went 0-for-1 on the power play, but were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

How it happened

PERIOD 1
The Sabres got off to a slow start as the Flyers held a 16-5 advantage in shots through the first period of play.
MacEwen crashed the net to put away the first goal of the game at the 2:04 mark.
Buffalo's best opportunity came immediately following their first penalty kill.
After Mattias Samuelsson and crew took time off the clock by pinning the puck against the boards, Zemgus Girgensons blocked a shot from the point and slipped the puck down the ice to Peyton Krebs, who came out of the penalty box on a breakaway. His backhand shot was stopped by Ersson to keep the Sabres off the scoresheet.
With 6:29 left on the clock, the puck jumped over Owen Power's stick and into the hands of Farabee who put the puck past Anderson.
A strong Flyers forecheck and a turnover in the Sabres' end led to a goal from Cates, giving the Flyers a 3-0 lead with 5:02 remaining in the period.
PERIOD 2
The Sabres began to put the pressure on midway through the second, holding the Flyers without a shot for over five minutes while taking eight shots of their own in that timespan.
Jacob Bryson sent a pass through the slot to a wide-open Alex Tuch, but Ersson remained sharp in net, blocking the puck out of play.
PERIOD 3
Just over 30 seconds in, Jeff Skinner nearly put the Sabres on the board as he wristed a shot off the goal post.
The Flyers scored at the 1:56 mark with a quick goal off the faceoff from Allison to extend their lead.
Rasmus Dahlin started a scrum in front of the net to give Buffalo its first power play of the night with 6:30 remaining, but the Sabres were unable to find the back of the net.

What we learned

1. Despite the results on the scoresheet, Buffalo was able to generate numerous opportunities as scoring chances were 24-23 in favor of the Sabres during 5-on-5 play, according to Natural Stat Trick.
   Tyson Jost thought that the slow start was difficult to come back from and that the team needs to better defensively when the goals aren't coming.
   "We wanted to get to our game, and we wanted to find it," Jost said. "We had a good talk in the first intermission there, and in the second, we started to get the ball rolling a little bit. Stuff just didn't find the back of the net and that's going to happen.
   "We've got to find ways to be better defensively and we kind of gave them four goals tonight. It is what it is, but every single night you've got to be ready and prepared to go. That's the National Hockey League."
   2. The Sabres are looking forward to playing Seattle tomorrow and bouncing back from an off night.
   Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said that it's better to play tomorrow night than to play a few days from now.
   "Once you leave the rink, it is what it is. It's done. It's one game," Okposo said. "When you play 82 of them, they're not going to all go your way. So, I think we'll be fine tomorrow."

Up next

The Sabres continue the homestand Tuesday when the Seattle Kraken visit KeyBank Center. Tickets are on sale now.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.