BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Sabres are on high alert for their low-scoring ways in three consecutive losses to open the season, with Buffalo fans pulling paper bags over their heads and voicing displeasure by booing the home team off the ice and hollering to the heavens for the dismissal of general manager Kevyn Adams.
“It’s not good enough,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said following the Monday’s 3-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. “We’ve got to get out of this bull…”
Tage Thompson tallied his first goal of the season but Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood stopped the other 28 shots the Sabres put on net. Alex Lyon made 34 saves for Buffalo, allowing goals by Colorado stars Nathan MacKinnon (twice) and defenseman Cal Makar, who scored the winner at 4:32 into the second period.
Staggering start
The Sabres have been outscored 10-2 in opening the season 0-3-0. They have not held a lead at any point and have trailed for the better part of nearly all nine periods.
This is the second year in a row and third time during the playoff drought that Buffalo has gone without a point in the standings through the first three games. The last time the Sabres went 0-3-0 with two goals scored was 2013 with Ron Rolston as coach.
“We have a long season to go,” Thompson said. “You guys are acting like the world is ending right now. We just have to find a way to claw ourselves out of this. We’re obviously in a hole we don’t want to be in and we have to find our way out of it.”
While Buffalo’s penalty kill has not given up a goal thus far, the Sabres went 0 for 3 on power plays Monday and are now scoreless in 11 opportunities with the man advantage in three games.
Injury updates
Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson missed Monday’s game with an undisclosed injury but is day to day and could return for Buffalo’s next game, coach Lindy Ruff said.
Forward Zach Benson is expected to skate Tuesday and make his season debut soon after.
Top-line center Josh Norris will reportedly be out for two months with his upper-body injury. “He is getting a second opinion,” Ruff clarified. “That is probably pretty close, yeah. I don’t really want to go timeframe until that.”
Up next
Buffalo continues its weeklong homestand Wednesday night against Dylan Cozens and the Ottawa Senators before hosting the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday.
“All we’ve got to start doing is looking at the next game,” Thompson said. “Can’t keep looking back, the last three games, the last four seasons, the last 14 seasons, whatever you want to do. We have to keep our sights set on what’s next.”
The Sabres had a similarly poor start a year ago, getting outscored 10-3 in three opening losses before getting back to a .500 record with a 4-1-1 stretch during which they scored 27 goals in six games.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.