'We need to be better' | Sabres surrender early lead in loss to Avalanche 

Tage Thompson said the Buffalo Sabres had the mindset to stay consistent as they returned to the dressing room after earning a 4-0 lead through the first period against the Colorado Avalanche.

They were expecting a response from the Avalanche, a perennial contender led by Hart and Norris Trophy winners in forward Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar.

“They’re a good team, they’re gonna have a push,” Thompson said. “I think their push intimidated us. I think we let it fold us and we didn’t look like we had any confidence to make plays or execute anything coming out of our zone.”

Colorado cut into the lead when MacKinnon scored 2:24 into the second period, then added four goals during the third to win 5-4 at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

The loss extended the Sabres’ winless streak to four games at 0-3-1 after they had gone 7-2-0 in their previous nine contests. They have four games remaining on a season-long homestand, which continues Thursday against Winnipeg.

“It wasn’t a good enough effort from any of the guys in this room, honestly,” Alex Tuch said. “We just need to be better. Call it a learning experience, honestly, just don’t forget how this feels because it sucks. We didn’t want to lose multiple games in a row, let alone four now.

“We have a top-three team in the NHL in Winnipeg, we have to be ready for them. We’re going to be playing against one of the best goalies in the world. They have a lot of firepower. They play a really good, hard team game and we have to be our best. We’re not making KeyBank a hard enough place to play right now, so that falls on me. That falls on all the guys in this locker room. We’ll be better.”

The Sabres came out firing in the first period, building their four-goal lead while taking 12 of the game’s first 16 shots. Thompson scored twice, the latter of which was followed by a JJ Peterka goal just 11 seconds later. Beck Malenstyn drove to the net and buried a backhand shot for the fourth goal, which prompted the Avalanche to replace Alexandar Georgiev in net with Scott Wedgewood.

Colorado cut into the lead just 2:24 into the second period, when MacKinnon received the puck off a turnover and picked the corner with a shot from the slot. The Avalanche went on to earn a 15-11 advantage in shots during the period, but the Sabres carried the 4-1 lead into the intermission thanks in part to the play of goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

“Upie bailed us out a lot in the second and then, honestly, we still felt like we could control the game going into the third,” Tuch said. “We let them off the hook.”

Buffalo opened the third period with 1:09 remaining on its final power play of the night, but Colorado killed the penalty aggressively and scored just seconds later when Joel Kiviranta buried a rebound off a shot from the point. Logan O’Connor scored next off a rebound, followed by a MacKinnon deflection to tie the game with 12:21 remaining.

Artturi Lehkonen scored the winning goal with 4:22 left to play, once again scored off a rebound in front of Luukkonen.

The Sabres were outshot 19-7 over the final 20 minutes, which they played almost entirely without defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres captain left the game with back spasms following his first shift of the period.

“We got in trouble with puck management,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “That has hurt us previously, I think it's hurt this team in the past. You look at the first two goals, didn't manage the puck well and not strong around and around the net in the last 40.”

The Sabres’ task is to respond quickly with a visit due up from the Jets, who rank third in the NHL in points percentage at 18-8-0.

“It's my job not to let it snowball,” Ruff said. “We'll address it. We'll deal with it. We'll go over it. It's hard, painful.”

Added Tuch: “It’s not going to be easy. We’re going to have to come in and we’re going to have to work. We’re going to have to watch some really crappy video tomorrow. We’re going to have a tough meeting. We’re going to have a tough skate, and we’re gonna play against one of the top teams in the NHL on Thursday. We’ve got to be ready for them.”

Here’s more from Tuesday’s game.

1. Casey Mittelstadt returned to KeyBank Center for the first time since he was traded to Colorado in exchange for Bowen Byram ahead of last season’s deadline. The forward was drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in 2017 and played 339 games spanning seven seasons in Buffalo.

The Sabres welcomed Mittelstadt with a video that played during the first period, including a highlight of his overtime goal in the 2021-22 season finale that served as the final call of Rick Jeanneret’s Hall-of-Fame career.

Watch Mittelstadt’s warm reception in the video below:

2. The game also marked Byram’s first time playing the Avalanche, with whom he won the Stanley Cup as a second-year player in 2022. Byram led the Sabres in ice time at 26:30 and had an assist.

3. Thompson’s goals were his first since returning from a five-game absence stemming from a lower-body injury. He had 16 shots in three games since rejoining the lineup and added five more against the Avalanche.

Jason Zucker moved to the top line alongside Thompson and Tuch for the game and factored in on both of Thompson’s goals, helping apply net-front pressure on the first and assisting on the second.

Up next

The Sabres host the Jets on Thursday night at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. with coverage on MSG beginning at 6:30.

Tickets are available here.