Sabres work to halt third-period woes
In the past four games, the Washington Capitals were the only team to enter the third period with a lead over the Buffalo Sabres. All that means is they were the only team the Sabres didn’t allow back into the game.
The Sabres enter tonight’s rematch with the Capitals on a third-period swoon. They held late leads over Montreal, Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders, but all three rallied to force overtime. The Canadiens and Penguins won to deprive the Sabres of an extra point; winning in a shootout salvaged a dismal ending against the Isles.
The HSBC Arena crowd lustily booed after New York scored twice in the final 1:34 Saturday, and the reaction surely would be the same tonight if history repeats. The Sabres are determined not to let it.
“It’s something where we have to figure it out,” said Sabres center Paul Gaustad, who may play after missing five games with an upper-body injury. “We have to make sure we get those points. We can’t be where we were last year, a few points out the playoffs and letting points slip away. That’s something we’ll address in this locker room now, and it’s something that can’t go ignored. We’re taking it very seriously.”
A combination of defensive breakdowns and bad penalties is hurting the Sabres.
They held 2-1 and 3-2 leads over Montreal. The Canadiens tied it for the final time with five minutes to play when Buffalo left Sergei Kostitsyn alone on the doorstep.
Two nights later, Daniel Paille took a retaliatory roughing penalty deep in the Pittsburgh zone. The Penguins scored on the power play with 11 minutes left.
The Islanders, meanwhile, received both gifts. Clarke MacArthur was called for tripping as New York tried to exit its zone, and the Isles scored with 1:34 to play to pull within a goal. Then the Sabres fell apart in their defensive zone, and Chris Campoli scored on point-blank shot from the slot with 2 seconds to go.
The penalties and breakdowns have to stop.
“We took a tough penalty against Pittsburgh and a bad penalty against the Islanders,” coach Lindy Ruff said Monday. “That’s been a little bit of a common thread. The overall discipline of our game has been very good. The timing of some of our penalties is something that I’ve addressed and going to continue to address.
“Offensive-zone penalties aren’t penalties you take late in games, the last 10 minutes of games. That should be a defending penalty. That should be a penalty where maybe they make a great play and you’re going take a penalty. Our penalty killing has been good, but you have to kill with a goaltender out [for an extra skater], situations like that make it tough.”
The Eastern Conference race is already tight, with 11 points separating fourth place from 11th. It figures to remain like that. It stands to reason that giving up a point or allowing an opponent to steal at least one could factor into whether the Sabres make or miss the playoffs.
“It’s a little frustrating,” right wing Drew Stafford said. “Fortunately, we got the extra point last game. We’re just going to have to build off that and move on from there. Hopefully, when we get in those positions where we have an opportunity to get two points off the bat, we lock down a lead and be responsible and play solid.”
If the Sabres are able to get a late lead tonight, it’ll be because they did a good job defending Alex Ovechkin. The reigning NHL Most Valuable Player was named First Star of the Week on Monday, partly because he beat the Sabres with a highlight-reel goal in the third period Friday.
“We did a pretty good job on Ovechkin until late, and then we let him make the difference, although he had a big part in that,” Ruff said. “He’s a special player.”
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Gaustad was awaiting final clearance from doctors in order to return tonight. He skated on the third line with left wing Adam Mair and right wing Ales Kotalik.
Injured Sabres Craig Rivet (shoulder), Nathan Gerbe (upper body) and Tim Connolly (rib) also skated. Rivet is improving and has been upgraded to “day to day” rather than “two weeks to two weeks.” Gerbe is “close,” Ruff said, while Connolly is not.
“Tim Connolly is a ways away,” Ruff said. “I won’t put any date on it, but I wouldn’t say near future.”
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