Sabres match season high with 39 shots but drop 1-0 contest to Wild

Tage Thompson emphasized the importance of staying the course following the Buffalo Sabres’ 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, a game that in many ways mirrored their performances in three consecutive victories in California last week.

The Sabres were either tied or trailing entering the third periods of those road wins on the West Coast. They had to play patient, defensively sound hockey before they eventually pulled through late.

The recipe was similar on Wednesday. The Sabres fell behind 6:55 into the contest when Kirill Kaprizov scored on an odd-man rush but responded with a season-high 87 shot attempts and 39 shots on goal. They simply never solved Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who continued a strong campaign with his second shutout of the season.

“Honestly, I think we played a really good game tonight,” said Thompson, who returned after missing the last five games with a lower-body injury. “I don’t think we can let that discourage us. Obviously, it stings when you lose, especially one like that where you feel like you outplayed them most of the night. Sometimes you run into a hot goalie and not much you can do. You just got to find ways to get one.”

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff echoed Thompson’s assessment of the game. The Sabres managed to play defensively sound hockey for the fourth straight game while also cleaning up areas Ruff had emphasized in the days since the team returned home from California, namely net-front presence and penalty discipline. They were not penalized for the first time this season and their focus on the opposing net contributed to 11 high-danger scoring chances, tied as the sixth-highest among allowed by the Wild this season.

Minnesota entered the game with an average of 2.48 goals allowed per game, the second-best mark in the NHL.

“Well, we did a lot of good stuff inside the game,” Ruff said. “We had one big mistake in the first period but I thought the first period might have been one of the best first periods we’ve played against a real tough team. A lot of real good looks on the power play to score. We bumped into a goalie that’s really seeing it. You look at some of the point-blank opportunities, and he was just getting a piece of a few.”

The Sabres continued pushing all the way through the third period, including a frenzied 6-on-5 stretch with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen pulled for an extra attacker. They consistently won loose pucks to maintain possession throughout that stretch and had multiple chances to tie the game as a result, including a shot from the slot for Thompson and a rebound beside the net for JJ Peterka that was blocked by defenseman Jared Spurgeon.

“We’ve been playing good hockey,” Thompson said. “I mean, that western trip was great for our team. We had a lot of good wins – a lot of good character wins – and tonight could’ve been another one like that. I like that we didn’t get discouraged. They score one early, it would be easy to bury our heads and kind of fold the tent, but I thought we outplayed them and didn’t really give them a whole lot other than that odd-man rush.”

The Sabres are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games following the loss. They practice on Thanksgiving before hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Friday afternoon, when they will look to replicate many of the habits they displayed against the Wild.

“I think we’re growing as a team,” Ruff said. “I think we understand that you really don’t need to change the way you’re playing. You’ve just got to stay with it.”

Here’s more from the loss.

1. Thompson skated 19:42 and had a game-high seven shots. He had practiced with the Sabres throughout their trip in California, but the team exercised caution before returning him to game action to avoid reaggravating his lower-body injury.

“Felt great,” he said. “Obviously, you miss that much time, lungs are burning a little bit, legs are a little heavy first few, and then you get into a rhythm and start to feel good. I felt I got better as the game wore on.”

2. Including Thompson, four Sabres had five or more shots on goal. The others were Jack Quinn (6), Jiri Kulich (5), and Alex Tuch (5).

3. Following the early goal from Kaprizov, which came on a 4-on-1 rush, Luukkonen matched Gustavsson for the remainder of a 28-save performance. Luukkonen has now allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his last eight starts.

4. The line of Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens, and Peyton Krebs drew the assignment of playing against Minnesota’s top line of Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy. Kaprizov entered the night tied for third in the NHL with 34 points.

Ruff said he was pleased with how Cozens’ line – which was not on the ice for Kaprizov’s goal – handled the task.

“They did a good job,” Ruff said. “That is probably one of the best lines we’ve faced that can generate. They’re a good line. They’re a hard line to play against. They’ve got everything, they’ve got speed, they’ve playmaking ability, they’ve got shooters. So, for those guys to be able to handle them for the most part, I like the job they did.”

Up next

The Sabres host the Canucks on Friday afternoon. Tickets are available here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 2:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 3.