The Sabres have seen comeback attempts fall short in back-to-back losses, in each case lamenting the fact that they were unable to replicate their third-period efforts for a full 60 minutes. The Sabres outshot their opponents a combined 35-11 in the last 20 minutes of those games.
It's the continuation of a season-long trend. Buffalo's score differential in the third period this season is minus-4, a relative improvement compared to their differentials of minus-22 and minus-19 in the first and second periods, respectively.
In some instances, Lehner surmised, opponents might be backing off in the third period after building early leads. In others, such as the loss to Washington on Monday, the Sabres simply adjust their mindset as the game goes on.
"I think it's just more aggressive," alternate captain Ryan O'Reilly said. "I'm not saying we're taking risks, but we just seem to be a little more clear and just kind of go, just kind of trust our forecheck and trust certain things like that that seem to get us the puck back.
"I think we do a solid job of defending and we're not giving up a ton and we keep it to the outside, but it's that offensive part that needs to be there a lot more."
Evander Kane said after the game on Monday that Buffalo's best defense was a good forecheck, as it wears opponents and keeps the puck of your own zone. O'Reilly echoed that sentiment on Tuesday.
"It's difficult right now," he said. "We played two good teams that I think we were a little hesitant of. We knew they were coming off tough losses and they were going to come hard, and maybe we got a little too much back on our heels watching instead of dictating the play."