Sometimes when you're dancing on the edge too long, you end up falling off. Simply put, the Sabres have been dancing on that edge for the last four games as they've found themselves behind in all of them. Fortunately they've managed to come away with a 2-0-2 record but last night it finally caught up with them as they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes.
In a nutshell:
--The offense didn't show up until it was too late and came up short
--Team defense was lacking as numerous odd-man rushes put the team in another hole
--Their goalie made some good saves again to keep the game within reach before the skaters woke up
--Intelligence hit some serious lows as an array of Sabres took stupid penalties in the second period with the team down 2-0 and momentum swinging in the their direction.
--The PK was tough
--The PP was not
--And boos could be heard from the hometown fans
It was not a good performance by the Sabres and head coach Dan Bylsma didn't help with his less than brilliant idea to bench Jack Eichel for their first powerplay. When asked post-game by a media member why he did that to their franchise player after the team tanked a whole year to get said talent, Bylsma's response was that he "wanted a different look" for the team while also trying to send a message that he wasn't thrilled with Eichel's play lately.
It backfired, Buffalo lost the game and they also lost some serious ground in the standings.
It's a game all of them will need to forget and luckily they'll get right back at it tonight with a game in Brooklyn against the NY Islanders in their last game before the Christmas break. Bylsma made some curious moves with his line combinations and juggled his d-pairings a bit last night, so we'll see how much of a carryover there is tonight.
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