Last night's 2-1 loss in Boston was much uglier than the final score would indicate and there's just no way of getting around it. The Bruins came out hard and determined on the puck and the deer-in-headlights Sabres had no answer. When they wanted to play, Boston controlled every facet of the game and at one point in a completely one-sided second period, the Bruins outshot the Sabres 14-3 and spent most of the first 15 minutes inside Buffalo's zone.
This Sabres team didn't know what to do last night and it showed just how bad they could be without their leader, Jack Eichel, while also showing just how much weight he was carrying.
Buffalo went into Boston tied with the Bruins for third place in the Atlantic division, but on the outside looking in because of having less regulation/overtime wins. The game represented a four-point swing to the winner and the Sabres looked frightened. They were flat-footed and slow to the, showed no energy and even less puck-support, cheated up ice and generally looked like some of the worst this franchise had to offer over the last five seasons.
Their top line was ineffective save for Jeff Skinner who worked hard to create multiple chances for himself but couldn't put one past Boston goalie Tuuka Rask, and we also found out that Evan Rodrigues should be no where near a top-line center role. Those who came to play up-front in Eichel's absence included Johan Larsson and...props should go out to Tage Thompson for his stickwork and stick-to-itiveness and to C.J. Smith who, along with Larsson, carried the weight of Buffalo's best line last night.
As for the rest? You can have 'em.
