Sabres see offensive chances limited in shutout loss in Colorado

DENVER - When the Colorado Avalanche pushed, the Buffalo Sabres felt they didn't push back nearly hard enough.
In a physical game with a lot of chippy moments, the Sabres were unable to generate much offensive pressure at all in their 3-0 loss Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche set the tone early. With 8:48 remaining in the first period, Sabres captain Jack Eichel was laid out by Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov along the boards inside the Sabres blue line after the play was blown dead on an offside. A scrum ensued and Zadorov ended up serving two minutes for roughing.

Eichel believed his club wasn't physical enough overall.
"Just gotta play physical. It's a physical game, right? So that's it," he said. "That's all it is. Finish your checks. Other teams like to do it to us. I don't see why we don't do it back. Everyone can finish a check and make it hard on the other team."

Through it all, the Avalanche won battles to sustain zone time while the Sabres struggled to reach a double-digit shot total until the game's dying minutes. Buffalo ended up being outshot 43-18. The Avalanche finished the game with 76 shot attempts to Buffalo's 38.
"For sure, it's frustrating. Everyone should be a little embarrassed at this point," forward Sam Reinhart said. "But when it's not going anyone's way, just simplifying makes it that much easier."
Until the final 2:20 of the game - in which the Sabres were credited with seven shots on goal - Buffalo's best chances came in the first period. On a power-play opportunity, Carl Soderberg prevented Jason Pominville from tapping the puck into a gaping net and minutes later, the left pad of Philipp Grubauer denied Reinhart on a breakaway as Reinhart exited the box on a penalty.
"I think if I hang on to it for another half-a-foot, wide open net. It's frustarting when things don't go in, you know, when it's been a couple games," Reinhart said. "At that point, you just need to relax and settle myself down, get back to it."

After the first period, Buffalo was outshot 12-4.
"It wasn't our best. Just the start of the game, all they did was pressure us and we didn't execute," coach Phil Housley said. "Whether it was a breakout or set breakout, we couldn't gain zones and it turns right back on us and it looks like they're playing a fast game."
Colorado's attack continued into the second period and the Avalanche finally broke through on Nathan MacKinnon's goal 3:13 in. He intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, overcame a check, skated in over the blue line and potted his 35th goal of the season to put Colorado up 1-0.
After two periods, the Avalanche held a 26-7 edge (they also had 48 total shot attempts to Buffalo's 18).

"You try and make adjustments, you try and find ways to get in and we didn't do a good enough job of creating a forecheck and spending time down there," forward Jeff Skinner said. "As a result, we were defending most of the game, couldn't really get out of our own end."
Skinner has not scored in 11 games.
"It's part of my job to produce," he said. "Obviously this last little stretch, I haven't done a good enough job and we haven't been getting results. That's not a good combo. You try to find ways to get out of it, maybe spend more time in the O-zone, but also spend more time around their net and get a greasy one, maybe get off this sort of slide."
Miko Rantanen added another for Colorado on the power play with 9:47 remaining in the third period to essentially put the game out of reach. Gabriel Bourque added an emprty-net goal with1:10 left.
Carter Hutton finished the game with 40 saves for Buffalo.
"We're just counting on our goaltender too much," Housley said. "He bails us out again."

The game also featured a scrum or extra check after what seemed like every other whistle.
With 5:12 remaining in the second period and Buffalo being outshot 20-7, Eichel was penalized two minutes for an illegal hit to the head on Soderberg. Buffalo managed to kill off the penalty.
Eichel was asked after the game if he expects to hear from the NHL about the hit.
"I thought he was just reaching. I don't know. I'd have to look at it to be honest with you, you know?" he said. "I'm trying to protect myself. It's a physical game. I think he's going to deliver a hit to me. It seems like maybe they were taking runs a little bit at times so I'm going to be the forefront of it, I might as well push back a little bit. I've got to protect myself."
Housley saw Eichel trying to protect himself as well.
"I'm not concerned at all. The first call against Zadorov, the whistle goes and it's a hit to the head. We only come out with a two-minute power play," Housley said. "He's relaxing. For me, Jack is embracing for the hit. He's embracing himself to get ready and go for the puck because he thinks he's going to get hit."
The Sabres will be back in action Tuesday night when the Dallas Stars come to KeyBank Center.
"At this point, just narrow our focus. As soon as you start talking, '14, 15 games left,' it drags out in a hurry and things don't go your way," Reinhart said. "As narrow as you can keep your focus and just do what you can on any given day, on the next day, one day at a time, slowly start to turn things around. But as soon as you start viewing it as 14 games left, 15 games left, whatever it is, efforts like this add up in a hurry."