Talk about a punch in the stomach.
The Buffalo Sabres spotted a first period field goal to Mikhail Girgorenko and the tanking Colorado Avalanche and their journeyman
Before the game was 15 minutes old, the Avs already owned a 3-0 lead.
Your HDTV wasn't malfunctioning. The picture was true to to form. The Sabres played loosey goosey in all three zone, slacked off on their responsibilities on the defensive side of the puck and ultimately allowed Girgorenko, Tyson Barrie, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Gabe Landeskog to snow board and slalom over the moguls disguised as Sabres defensemen and forwards en rout to Robin Lehner's cave at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
The Avs skiied down hill for most of the game.
Their speed was evident from the drop of the puck. By the time Buffalo got their feet moving the score was 3-0. The 2016-17 Sabres have played well and have had great success stalking down opponents from behind. And winning games in heroic fashion. There would be no such mojo on Saturday night in Denver.
The Sabres were brutal. They were caught flat-footed and were seen far too often reaching and whiffing. At think air. It was a lazy, uninspired effort from a Sabres team that looked like it had already mentally put the two Colorado points in their vault and moved on to Arizona.
This one was no trip down the bunny hill. I give the Avs credit for busting the Sabres in the mouth with their fast start. It was revenge for the 2-0 butt kicking they received in Buffalo earlier this month.
To earn zero points from the taking Avalanche is damning. The Sabres lost valuable ground on the Eastern wild card and divisional races during their NHL mandated five day trip to the beach. On Saturday night, Denver was the the perfect launching pad to make up some lost points and start stacking wins in the final 21 games of the regular season after playing 11 games in 19 days to start the month of February.
To say that the Sabres blew a glorious opportunity to jump back into the lead pack of the race is an understatement.
The NY Islanders got blasted by a touchdown in Columbus.
Philadelphia lost to Pittsburgh.
Toronto and New Jersey earned loser points in overtime.
The Sabres skate into Arizona trailing Boston by 6 points for the second Eastern wild card.
Sam Reinhart, Marcus Foligno and Evan Rodrigues scored for Buffalo.
Reinhart was Dash 4. He was on the ice for 80% of Colorado's goals. Jack Eichel, Evander Kane and Rasmus Ristolainen were a combined Dash 9.
Four of Buffalo's stars were a combined -13 in a lopsided loss to a conspicuously tanking team.
You can't look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face that the five day hiatus was the reason that Reinhart. Eichel, Kane and Ristolainen were awful against the Avalanche.
It wasn't just the youngsters who left their A-Game in Buffalo.
Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo were quiet. Brian Gionta, Dmitry Kulikov, Josh Gorges, Cody Franson and Zach Bogosian blended in to the scenery. None were transcendent players.
Did you know that the Sabres registered zero hits in the first twenty minutes of play? They landed only six, count them SIX hits all game long. The Avalanche forwards were thrilled that the Sabres were content to play shinny and not run their faces through the glass for 60 hard minutes.
This team has flaws.
Oh, by the way, the Desert Dogs are not a push over team.
If the give-a-sh*t-meter and work ethic don't immediately get cranked to 12 on a 10-scale, good luck winning 15 of the next 21 games on the schedule.
The NHL trade deadline is at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday March 1.
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