BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sabres coach Lindy Ruff might have been better off declining penalties Thursday night.
Scoreless on a season-high six power-play chances, the Sabres gave up a pair of shorthanded goals in a 5-2 loss in Calgary against a Flames team that came in ranked 30th in the NHL on the penalty kill.
“Power play let us down big time,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Not only let us down, but gave up opportunities, gave up shorthanded. Mishandling pucks, a night where three or four opportunities could’ve made the difference, could have won us the hockey game. I thought our 5-on-5 play real strong. Power play killed us.”
Poor special teams play doomed Buffalo on a night it had 34-26 advantage in shots on goal, and 58-40 advantage in shot attempts at 5-on-5.
In 8:42 of 5-on-4 time, the Sabres got 7 of 11 shot attempts to the net. They had just one high-danger scoring chance, according to NaturalStatTrick, and gave up two.
Buffalo entered Thursday night’s game with the NHL’s 27th-ranked power play, converting 18% of chances. But the Sabres were better of late, going 11 for 29 (28%) in the previous 14 games.
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson had a goal and an assist in the same game for the first time in his career. Tage Thompson tipped in Samuelsson’s shot to score his 22nd of the season, giving the Sabres a 2-1 lead in the second period.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made 21 saves on 24 shots, gave up the tying goal to Calgary’s Nazem Kadri a few minutes later on a backhand shot that bounced off the Sabres’ goaltender’s glove and between his leg pads.
Jakob Pelletier scored the winning goal early in the third period. Buffalo’s 18th blown lead matched the Chicago Blackhawks for most in the NHL this season.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored a shorthanded goal in the first period on a breakaway after Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin lost the puck and fell at the red line. The Sabres allowed a second shortie for the first time this season when Mikael Backlund scored after Luukkonen was pulled for an extra attacker on a later power play. Yegor Sharangovich also had an empty-net goal for the Flames.
Having lost seven of the past 11 games, the Sabres concluded their road trip Saturday at Edmonton.
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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.