Acting head coach Matt Ellis’s Covid-ravaged squad showed some promise and some gumption against Lindy Ruff’s Devils on Wednesday, but ultimately came up short by a 4-3 score. The Sabres played the game without Vinnie Hinostroza, Zemgus Girgensons, Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens, Mark Jankowski, Colin Miller and Don Granato as a result of a viral outbreak. Sabres fans got a look at Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka, Ethan Prow and Casey Fitzgerald in their stead. Wednesday’s game was also the Sabres debut for Alex Tuch who came aboard in the Jack Eichel trade.
In the first period, the Sabres looked like a team that hadn’t ever played together. That makes sense considering, well, a lot of the forwards had never played together. JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson struggled a little bit in the early going before ultimately putting things together. While that trio didn’t manage to generate much in the first, it was the established Sabres who had the most trouble overall.
The Bjork-Eakin-Hayden line had a very bad first shift as Cody Eakin got tossed from the faceoff in the Sabres’ defensive zone and the team then spent the next minute-or-so in their own zone trying desperately to clear the puck after John Hayden was unable to win the faceoff in Eakin’s stead. Things didn’t get any better from there as Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring in the first on the powerplay following a high-sticking penalty to Kyle Okposo.
The new guys did bring some energy in the opening frame, though. Alex Tuch had a nice hit on the back check in the first period during his Sabres debut. Tuch was partly brought aboard for his tenacity and size – two things the Sabres have lacked in recent (or not-so-recent) years. Tuch and Thompson did appear to build some chemistry as the period went on as a streaking Tuch fed Tage Thompson for a scoring opportunity midway through the first. Peterka’s speed was evident, and his hustle on the backcheck was as well. His passing looked off at times which is to be expected in an NHL debut.
That didn’t matter much in the short term as Lindy Ruff’s squad extended their lead with about 8 minutes left in the first as Jersey’s sustained offensive zone pressure led to goal by Jesper Bratt.
Shortly thereafter, 6’5… Brett Murray showed why he has a place in the lineup, other than his 4 points in 12 games, as he chucked knuckles with Jonas Siegenthaler following Siegenthaler’s dirty hit on Okposo in the offensive corner. Murray earned 17 minutes in penalties for his role in the kerfuffle with a 2-minute instigating penalty, a 5-minute fighting penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. 17 minutes was way over the top for what Murray did, but I’d wager a guess that acting head coach Matt Ellis can live with Murray putting the Sabres in a penalty hole if it means protecting a veteran like Kyle Okposo.
The second period started much better for the Sabres as Syracuse-native Tuch got his first point as a Sabre when he fed a point-shot through for a deflection by Tage Thompson who got his 11th of the season. Thompson decided that wasn’t enough, though. Just three minutes later, Rasmus Dahlin corralled a puck just inside his own blue line and floated a pass all the way to the Devil’s blue line which found Thompson in stride for a perfect breakaway chance. The 6’7… center made no mistake with a simple forehand-backhand-forehand move that beat Devils’ goaltender McKenzie Blackwood cleanly.
Peterka displayed some sick moves – and elicited some “oohs… and “ahhs… from the crowd – in the second period as he danced through a couple of Devils’ defenders before being stymied by a third. The German-born winger possesses a tremendous amount of speed, creativity and confidence that will serve him well in the coming years.
Henri Jokiharju had the defensive play of the game halfway through the second period as he sprinted to track down a streaking Jack Hughes who looked to have a clean breakaway before Jokiharju poked the puck off the first-overall pick’s stick to deny a scoring opportunity. That he did so without taking a penalty was nothing short of impressive, especially considering Hughes’s speed.
Okposo took exception to a Devil taking a hack at Ukko-Pekka Luukonen late in the second period and gave his man his man a crosscheck in the crease. “Okie… more than held his own, but Murray was right in the crease with the elder statesman to back him up if things got out of hand again. This edition of the Sabres definitely plays with a sense of comradery that has been missing over the past decade or so. It’s very refreshing to watch.
Jack Hughes got on the board in the third period following a sustained pressure and a multitude of shots from New Jersey to open the final frame. There wasn’t much of a chance for Luukkonen as the puck went far side for Hughes who was there for a tap in. That shot was the 35th shot of the night for the Devils as compared to 14 for the Sabres which gives a fairly accurate representation of how things had gone to that point.
Peyton Krebs had a nice shift shortly thereafter as he displayed excellent speed and stickhandling in the offensive zone. Krebs had a quiet game overall but he showed some promising flashes throughout.
The Devils delivered the killing blow late in the third as Yegor Sharangovich got his 5th of the season to put the Devils ahead 4-2. The Sabres managed to get things close with 5 minutes left as *checks notes* Ethan Prow scored his first of the season (and first career goal) to draw the blue and gold closer. The Sabres bench erupted for Prow when he put that home, but it wouldn’t matter toward the ultimate outcome as the Sabres lost 4-3.
Overall, the Sabres were outplayed substantially and deserved to lose the game. They looked like they were missing their coach and six players due to Covid. It’s reasonable to expect that this squad will continue to build chemistry as they get to know each other which should lead to some better results. The new guys are certainly worth watching. The Sabres are next in action against the New York Islanders tomorrow night at 7:30.