Konecny’s goal stood, the failed challenge putting Philadelphia right back on the man advantage. There, Trevor Zegras scored thanks to an unfortunate bounce off Ryan McLeod’s skate. After the ensuing faceoff at 5-on-5, a breakout pass hit off Tage Thompson and stayed in the Buffalo end, creating an odd-man rush and a Bobby Brink goal.
Very suddenly, an early Sabres lead had spiraled into a 3-1 deficit.
“We let things that are out of our control impact the way we go over the boards and play the game, affect our mindset,” Thompson said. “Obviously that’s not good, and it’s something that I’ve got to be better at as a leader.
“… You’ve just got to try to keep doing the things that make you successful, and I think we got away from that tonight.”
Buffalo’s penalty kill had arguably its toughest night of the season, allowing two goals in five shorthanded situations – effectively a third, too, seconds after a penalty expired.
The group entered the night at 88.9 percent, has ranked first or second in the league since opening night and hadn’t allowed multiple goals in a game before Wednesday, so they’re confident this will be just a blip on the radar.
“Whenever a puck goes in the net, there’s usually something that goes wrong before it, but I don’t think it’s anything to stress about,” said Bowen Byram, who skated 4:06 shorthanded. “Our PK’s been so good. An off night can happen, so just (need to) regroup and try to tighten those things up.”
This marked the Sabres’ fifth chance at a three-game winning streak this season, and they’ve come up short each time. Up-and-down play has kept them within reach of a playoff spot in the crowded Eastern Conference, but it’ll take more consistent success to begin climbing the standings.
“We’ve just got to keep chugging here,” Byram said. “… If we want to stay in the race, we’re going to have to try to string something together.”
Here’s more from the loss.
