Sabres unable to overcome early shorthanded goals in loss to Kraken

Don Granato had little time to run practices as the Sabres navigated their recent stretch of five games in seven days, a fact he felt may have caught up with his young team on Monday.
The Sabres allowed shorthanded goals on two separate power plays on their way to falling behind 3-0 during the first period, a deficit that proved insurmountable in a 7-4 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
"We didn't have a sense of urgency at the start with respect to details," Granato said. "That was obvious. We allowed too much, too easy and then fought, obviously, the rest of the way as a result."

Buffalo cut its deficit to two goals on four occasions but allowed a Kraken response each time. Jeff Skinner scored twice for the Sabres, who also received goals from Brett Murray and Dylan Cozens. Murray's goal was the first of his NHL career.
The Sabres entered the night having earned points in their last two games, a home win over Montreal on Friday and an overtime loss in Detroit on Saturday. Granato spoke prior to the game about taking the positives from those games and applying them consistently against the Kraken.
They positioned themselves to take control early when Cozens drew a tripping penalty against Kraken defenseman Haydn Fleury. Yanni Gourde flipped the momentum on the ensuing power play, stripping the puck from Rasmus Dahlin behind the Buffalo net and feeding Carson Soucy for a shorthanded goal from the high slot.
Brandon Tanev added the other shorthanded goal on Buffalo's next power play, intercepting a pass from Dahlin in the Seattle zone and taking it the length of the ice before burying his own rebound off the pad of goaltender Dustin Tokarski.
The Sabres entered the game having not allowed a shorthanded goal all season.
"I think the details slipped," Granato reiterated. "We're, I would say, an evolving team, a younger team. This was a lot of growing pains, I believe."

Seattle took advantage of defensive breakdowns to stave off Buffalo's attempts at a comeback for the remainder of the evening. Jared McCann was left alone to bury a carom off the end boards for Seattle's third goal, scored during the final minute of the first period. McCann was alone again when he scored early in the second period, this time cutting into the slot to receive a pass from behind the goal line.
Mason Appleton added a pair of goals for Seattle, including an empty netter. Jaden Schwartz also scored for the Kraken.
Tokarski, starting for the third time in four days, made 25 saves.
"I think in games you've got recognize there's some pretty big swings and you have to find a way to come out on the right side of some of those big moments," Skinner said. "I think for us tonight we didn't do a good job.
"We had a few power plays that didn't go as planned and then I think we even had more opportunities to get it back there. We definitely had opportunities, we just didn't seem to be able to sustain any type of momentum."

Murray nets 1st goal

The one silver lining for the Sabres was the milestone goal for Murray, whose goal was the culmination of a long journey from fourth-round pick in 2016 to pro player who has consistently impressed since showing up to training camp without a contract two summers ago.
Murray nearly scored against Montreal on Friday but sent his shot from the crease off the post. Turns out, the goal might have been worth the wait. His mother and father were both in attendance Monday, their very first NHL game.
"It was a pretty special feeling," he said. "It's something that you've worked your whole life for. For it to finally happen is amazing. Even more amazing that I was able to have my entire family in the stands there. It makes it even more special."

Murray also tallied an assist, giving him three points in the last two games while playing on a line with Cozens and Kyle Okposo. Cozens collected the puck after Murray buried a carom off the end boards, the product of an Okposo shot.
"I think that one will probably stick with me," Murray said. "There's a lot of people that probably deserve it."

Skinner's 2-goal outing

Skinner scored twice to extend his point streak to three games, with three goals and two assists in that span. His eight goals this season are one more than his 53-game total from 2020-21.
"Personally, last year was a challenging year, obviously not how I would have liked to contribute to the team," Skinner said. "… I think part of my job is to generate offense and to capitalize on opportunities and I'm going to try and keep doing that."
Skinner netted his first goal with the Sabres on the power play late in the second period. He was able to turn around and bury the puck from a tough angle after a shot from Tage Thompson caromed his way off the end boards.

Skinner struck again during the opening minute of the third period, burying a rebound in the slot after Victor Olofsson intercepted an attempted breakout pass down low.

Granato predicted a strong offensive output from Skinner early in the season based on the veteran's forwards habits, comments he revisited after the game Monday.
"He's doing all of the right things to lead to scoring," Granato said. "… This is a new normal for him, I believe, because of the work and habits he's putting in."

Up next

The Sabres open a two-game road trip in Florida on Thursday. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.