I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but, when you are an offensive player who is getting paid to put the puck in the net and your starting goalie makes 42 saves for you against an aggressive opponent, in a hostile building on the road, you better deliver.
Another game, another wasted goaltending and defensive performance by the Buffalo Sabres.
Chad Johnson made 42 saves against the grotesquely gifted Chicago Blackhawks for the Sabres (15-22-4). In the end, Johnson made one blunder that cost his team the win. One chintzy mistake. That's the margin of error in the NHL today. Unfortuanately, Johnson could not erase the gaffe and the Sabres prolonged their losing streak.
Rather then give the guy some goal support, Johnson's Sabres teammates stood around admiring his prowess while they waited for the captain and the rookie to bail them out.
Again.
Seriously, this act is getting old.
The result was the Blackhawks beat the Sabres for their sixth straight win which just so happened to be Buffalo's sixth straight loss.
The Sabres have scored just eight goals during their six game slide.
They are a woeful 15-22-4 at the halfway mark of the NHL schedule. They have just 34 points are which is only three points better than last year's mid-term grade of 31 points. At the turn in 2015, Ted Nolan's club had a 14-24-3 combined record.
I give Johnson and the Sabres full marks for holding Pat Kane, Artemi Panarin and the Hawks in check for the first 55 minutes of the game. The defending Stanley Cup champs were aggressive in Buffalo's end of the rink and they had their quality scoring chances. Johnson was steady and reliable.
In the end, Johnson made one mistake, and that was it. The walls collapsed around him. Rather than have one or two of his teammates pick him up, they sheathed their weapons.
Friday night's loss was a movie we had seen recently. Remember last Saturday afternoon when Detroit's Tomas Tatar scored on Johnson to tie the game with 2:50 remaining in regulation? It happened again to Johnson on Friday night when Philip Danault greased a puck short side on Johnson with 4:57 remaining in regulation.
Johnson, feeling like crap for surrendering yet another lback-breaking goal, looked to his offensive teammates for help. They were were not available to him. For some unseen reason Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta, Samson Reinhart, Evander Kane, Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno and others could not put the puck into Lake Erie right now if they were standing on a dock three feet away from the water.
Moulson has scored just 4 goals in 40 games. That puts him on pace for an 8 goals season. Totally unacceptable considering he is being paid $5 million per season to light the lamp.
Brian Gionta has 4 goals in 38 games.
Kane has 8 goals in 31 games. Girgensons has 3 goals in 37 games. Foligno has 2 goals in 35 games and Larsson has 1 goal in 38 games.
The Buffalo forwards have perfected the art of logo sniping opposing goalies. When they are not burying the puck into the goalie's belly for easy saves, they are ringing shots left and right off the cross bar and posts.
This keystone cops routine is played out and tired. This team lacks finishers. They create chances however cannot finish them at the net. I don't need analytics and jar head logic and research to tell me that the Sabres are a below average scoring team.
In 41 games, the Sabres have scored 92 goals. That's an average of 2.24 goals per game. The damning stat is that Buffalo as a team have only scored 56 even strength goals this season.
Tim Murray knows where his team's warts are. It's his job to fix what ails this team at the midway point in the next chapter.
Thank the hockey gods for Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel who are the only two horses pulling the wagon right now.
O'Reilly has scored a goal in the past two games and in three of four. He credited Johnson for keeping Buffalo in the game.
The defacto captain gave Johnson and rookie goalie Linus Ullmark props after the gut-punching loss.
"(They) have been outstanding for us, giving us a chance to win every game," O'Reilly said. "Without having [Johnson] play like that, it would've been a much different outcome. They would've blown us out. We have to help [our goalies] out more and score."
Nik Hjalmarsson opened the scoring with 1:34 left in the first with his second goal of the season when he was allowed to waltz down the slot unmolested for a clean look on Johnson.
No goals were scored in the second period and Johnson made several saves to prevent goals on good scoring chances in the second and third.
ROR sniped Crawford for his 17th goal of his all star season.
O'Reilly and Eichel can't score all of the goals for the Sabres.
"It's frustrating. We have to get on the board early," O'Reilly said. "It's too late to create offense that late in the game and expect to win one. Myself and the rest of the forwards, we have to find a way to generate offense and actually get results early in the game to generate some momentum and confidence".
Jack Eichel entered Friday night’s game with 12 points (4G, 8A) in his previous eight games, including six (2G, 4A). He had his four game point streak snapped in ChiTown.
O’Reilly has 18 points (10G, 8A) in his last 18 games, a stretch that included an eight-game point streak from November 28 to December 14. The point streak tied the longest streak of O’Reilly’s career.
Stop number two on the Midwest roadie: The viper's den in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Evander Kane better bring his ear plugs along with a multi-goal effort. Or less, Jets fans will rin boos and jeers down upon him for three hours.
***
Tim Murray has to find goal scoring from outside the family. Dan Bylsma can't keeping waiting for his slumbering forwards to awaken.
Murray would be wise to wade into the Jonathon Drouin Derby.
Drouin is a par four away from Buffalo right now in AHL Syracuse.
The turbo-charged former 3rd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft dropped the jaws of the 16 NHL scouts who were in attendance for his first game for the Crunch since being demoted from the Tampa Lightning last Saturday.
Jonathon Drouin was in beast mode Friday night!
He certainly hasn't damaged his trade value, that's for sure.
Last Saturday, Tampa GM Steve Yzerman sent the kid to Syracuse. On Sunday, Drouin's agent cleared his throat and made public the trade request that he made on behalf of his client to the Bolts in November.
Drouin has scored two beautiful goals in the first period against Albany. In so doing, Drouin is telling Yzerman and Bolts head coach Jon Cooper where to go and how to get there.
It's important to note that Drouin is playing center on Friday night, not his natural left wing position. He's showing that he is versatile and playing multiple positions makes him more valuable to other teams.
This goal encapsulates all of Drouin's high-end skills: Pace, vision, speed, skill, strength, and finishing ability.
There will be more scouts and NHL execs in attendance to Syracuse games on Saturday and Sunday. The Crunch host Hershey on Saturday night and then travel to Rochester on Sunday afternoon.
I'm predicting that Drouin will be traded by the end of next week.
Keep an eye on Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis.
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