One Minute Debacle Spells Doom for Buffalo

Score: Buffalo Sabres 2-5 Philadelphia Flyers
Shots: BUF 26-35 PHI

Buffalo Sabres Goals: Zucker 8th PPG (Doan, Norris) Byram 6th (Tuch, Quinn)
Philadelphia Flyers Goals: Konecny 6th PPG (Michkov, Sanheim) Zegras 10th (Sanheim, Konecny) Brink 7th PPG (Cates, Grebenkin) Cates 6th (Brink, Drysdale) Tippett 9th (Michkov, Couturier)

Minus 1: DISASTROUS Turn of Events

Philadelphia came out flying in this one, as their name suggests. But an early delay of game penalty gave Buffalo the power play and Jason Zucker cashed in right out front. Josh Doan circled the net and just squeezed a pass to him for the 1-0 lead. Then the penalty parade really began. Matvei Michkov, Tage Thompson and Conor Timmins all went to the box in short order. Philly scored on the back end of what was a two man advantage. Then the Flyers scored quickly again moments later with a player right on Colten Ellis. Buffalo challenged for goalie interference but it was upheld. The Flyers went right back to the power play and scored goal number three off a weird deflection on a passing play.

A great start on the road went south really fast. Three goals against in under a minute. Lindy Ruff’s challenge was questionable, but we’ve seen the Sabres get goals taken off the board this year for less. There is almost no consistency in goaltender interference calls anymore. I would like to see each team get one “free” challenge per game, without risking a penalty against.

Minus 2: No Recovery

Philly scored again early in the 2nd period right after Peyton Krebs got out of the box. (Nevermind Josh Norris getting tripped moments earlier, Mr. Referee) Down now 4-1, the Sabres spirits were sinking fast. Buffalo’s top penalty kill took a beating in this game, with no help from the officiating.

Bo Byram gave Buffalo some hope when he scored his 6th of the year. His 15 foot wrister beat the Flyers’ goaltender with assists going to Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn. But just 55 seconds later, a turnover in the Sabres’ end resulted in another Flyers’ talley. Owen Tippett scored his 9th, tipping his own rebound out of the air and into the net. Rasmus Dahlin then took a major penalty for boarding late in the period (after getting knocked hard earlier) and was thrown out of the game. This was just not Buffalo’s night.

Minus 3: Road Woes Continue and Poor Taz

The Sabres killed off the 5 minute major, then got a power play of their own. No dice and little setup with the man advantage. Another power play? Not even a shot on goal this time. There was little fight left in the team. Even with some growing confidence here and there, they are still a fragile bunch between the ears. They need to work their asses off to win a game, but losing comes too easy when they don’t. Zach Benson even got his potential 1st goal of the year wiped off the board on a ticky-tack offsides challenge. The referee seemed thrilled to make that announcement to us all.

This game was a tough pill to swallow as the Sabres fall 5-2 to the Flyers. Once again, Buffalo fails to progress after making it back to .500. A one minute moment in the game was the deciding factor. Once the Sabres jumped out in front, it felt like the Hockey Gods said “Oh no you don’t!” and sent down the bolt of doom to stop them. A frustrating and damaging loss to a team they are chasing in the standings.

Final Thoughts:

Conor Timmins’ penalty in the first period sure looked like the Philly player embellished his fall, in fact it looked comical. If anything, both players should have gone to the box. That call (and non-call) by the referee set off the chain of events that quickly put Buffalo down 3-1.

The Sabres will finish off the aviation sandwich with the Jets and Flyers when they visit Winnipeg on Friday, December 5th at 7pm Eastern time.