Special teams the difference in loss to Red Wings

DETROIT – Bowen Byram felt the Buffalo Sabres managed the demands of playing on back-to-back nights better than they had since he joined the team last season, adhering to the message from coach Lindy Ruff and taking a smart, efficient approach through to the end.

The difference in their 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Byram and Ruff agreed, simply came down to special teams.

“I thought we played hard,” Byram said. “I thought we played a pretty good game. I mean, in terms of back-to-backs since I’ve been here, that’s the best one we’ve played. You’ve got to find positives in things, and I think that’s a big positive for us.

“A negative is our PK gives up two goals and that ends up winning them the game. That’s unacceptable, so, at the end of the day, whenever you lose a few in a row you’ve got to regroup and forget about the last one, learn from it, and get ready to go again. It’s no different for us. We’ll learn from it and keep moving forward."

The Sabres, playing a rested opponent after falling to the New York Islanders on Friday, earned an early lead when Alex Tuch stole the puck from Dylan Larkin and scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 11:39 of the first period.

Larkin responded with a pair of power-play goals during the second period, the latter of which stood as the winner despite a strong push from the Sabres through the final 20 minutes. The Sabres generated 13 shots during the third but were kept off the board by goaltender Cam Talbot, who put the finishing touches on a 31-save performance.

Buffalo finished the night 0-for-2 on the power play after scoring with the man advantage in each of the past three games. Both opportunities came during the first period before Detroit had gotten on board.

“I thought we came out with a real strong first period, did a lot of good things,” Ruff said. “But when your power play has an opportunity even late in the period to make the difference, we didn’t get enough done."

Larkin’s first power-play goal came after Jordan Greenway blocked a shot, leading to a clearing opportunity for the Sabres. Patrick Kane prevented the clear and sent the puck to Larkin, who buried a quick shot from beside the net.

The Red Wings went back on the power play following a delay of game call with 5:35 left in the period. This time, Larkin found open space in front of the net and received a feed from Alex DeBrincat, which he buried from the edge of the crease.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished the night with 21 saves on 23 shots.

“A failed clear let one power-play goal and tough coverage on the second one,” Ruff said.

The Sabres entered the night with a focus on limiting the defensive miscues that had led to losses in their previous two games against Florida and the Islanders. Ruff also stressed the importance of taking what was given on the second night of a back-to-back set, particularly with the Red Wings having not played since Wednesday.

Ruff felt the team showed improvement toward both of those objectives, a point Byram echoed postgame.

“I just thought we played a pretty smart game,” Byram said. “We gave up a couple odd-man rushes, but in the past we’ve given up a lot on back-to-backs and we’ve kind of played loose. I thought tonight we played pretty tight to be honest with you.

“I thought for a brief stint in the second there we kind of got a little loose and they got a couple chances, but after that and before that, I thought we played a pretty tight game. Like I said, it comes down to special teams. There’s scored and ours didn’t, so yeah, it’s something to work on.”

Here’s more from the loss in Detroit.

1. The Sabres inserted Jiri Kulich into the lineup at forward in place of Nicolas Aube-Kubel while Jacob Bryson stepped in on defense for Connor Clifton. Ruff said the moves were made to give the team fresh legs for the back-to-back.

Bryson skated 13:34 in his season debut, playing on a pair with Mattias Samuelsson. Kulich had four shot attempts in 14:28.

2. Another lineup change saw Byram move to a defense pair with Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres earned a 27-6 advantage in shot attempts with the duo on the ice, 13 of which came from Dahlin.

“It’s a lot of fun playing with him,” Byram said. “Everybody knows what type of player he is, so it makes it really simple on myself. I try to give him the puck and get open when I can, but he’s a blast to play with. I feel like we created some good looks in the O-zone. Like I’ve been saying, we’ll continue to work on it and grow as a pair.”

3. The Sabres out-attempted the Red Wings 32-16 during the third period but were held off the board by Talbot.

“We were patient but, when we needed to be, we were assertive in the second half of the game,” Tuch said. “We’ve just got to bear down and bury some chances, myself included. Talbot played really well.”

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Tickets are available **here**.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.