Sabres open homestand with loss to Kraken

Alex Tuch scored 50 seconds into the second period of the Buffalo Sabres’ game against the Seattle Kraken to tie the score at 2-2, but from there, the forward felt the team lost its composure and didn’t play the game it wanted to play in a 5-2 loss inside KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

The Sabres outshot the Kraken 38-26 but had trouble finding the back of the net as Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord made 36 saves to lead his team to victory.

The Kraken extended their point streak to 11 games (9-0-2), during which they have allowed just 15 goals.

“Obviously, Daccord played really well tonight,” Tuch said. “I still think we got a lot of Grade-A opportunities, a lot of really good opportunities. It’s just bearing down on some of those chances. … He’s been probably their best player through this point streak that they have going on and we weren’t able to capitalize on enough opportunities against him.”

Jeff Skinner opened the scoring at the 4:57 mark of the first period after Tuch won a puck battle in the corner off an offensive-zone faceoff. Tuch fought through two defenders to pass to Casey Mittelstadt in the left circle before Mittelstadt sent a quick feed to Skinner, who was all alone at the backdoor to put Buffalo on the board.

The Sabres went on to hold a 16-5 edge in shots midway through the first, but Seattle made a push in the second half of the opening period, responding with a tally from Yanni Gourde and a power-play goal from Vince Dunn to send Buffalo into the locker room down 2-1 after one.

Despite falling behind, Tuch didn’t feel like the team got too down on itself, coming out with a strong start in the second. His game-tying goal came after Skinner dished the puck to the front of the net for a redirect.

However, the Kraken responded just over a minute later as Alex Wennberg snuck behind the Buffalo defense to beat Devon Levi on a breakaway, which Tuch said took the air out of the Sabres’ momentum.

Seattle added two more tallies in the second from Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers, which would go unanswered by Buffalo.

“I mean, [we] shouldn’t be able to just dominate like that and then one play doesn’t go our way and ‘boo hoo,’ sit back on our heels and reel it in,” Tuch said. “We’ve got to keep pushing forward, and I thought we did that at times but nowhere near as consistent enough as we should have. I thought we lost our composure a little bit with how we wanted to play the game and how we wanted to play on our terms.”

Sabres coach Don Granato and Tuch agreed that the group played with frustration as more chances were pushed aside by Daccord, including 11 shots in a third period that saw the Sabres outshoot the Kraken 11-6.

“We just have to stay even-keeled a little bit more and keep a better demeanor as a 20-man unit, and not let the ebs and flows of the game really get to us,” Tuch said. “I feel like we let that happen tonight and, like I said, we had a lot of momentum, and we gave up the momentum, honestly. It wasn’t anything that they did too much to us. I thought we did it more to ourselves.”

Here's more from the loss at KeyBank Center.

1. Early in the game, Granato moved Mittelstadt in between Tuch and Skinner while Tage Thompson shifted to a line with Jordan Greenway and Zach Benson.

The Sabres were rewarded as they held an 11-3 advantage in shots while Mittelstadt, Skinner, and Tuch were on the ice together at 5-on-5, resulting in both of Buffalo’s goals.

“Yeah, very first shift, maybe two, I don’t know how quick I did it,” Granato said. “But just thought it was appropriate to do it and obviously they scored right away. They scored again too, obviously. But yeah, I didn’t like what I saw on the other [line] and it was an easy [decision]."

2. Mittelstadt recorded two assists to up his point total to 35 in the campaign. The forward leads all Sabres skaters in points (35) and assists (24) through the first half of the season.

3. Tuch extended his point streak to three games with a goal and assist. He has now tallied 12 points (3+9) in his last 11 games.

4. Levi stopped 21 of 26 shots in the loss. Granato is confident that his rookie goaltender will reset from a tough game.

“It happens to anybody at any age and you’ve got to reset as quick as you can,” Granato said. “He has the habits. He’s resilient and he has good daily habits and routine that I think he’ll reset.”

Up next

The homestand continues Thursday against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center. It will be the third meeting between the two teams this season after they split their first two matchups in Ottawa.

Tickets are available here. 

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ kicks off at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.