For the fourth time this season, the Buffalo Sabres failed to score a goal, falling to the Boston Bruins 3-0. With the loss, the Sabres have dropped three-straight and five of their last six, falling to 8-19-7.
Five observations from Tuesday's loss:
Missed opportunities
If you watched the game or even just took a quick look at the box score this will be pretty obvious. Throughout the evening the Sabres generated some quality chances but failed to score. What else is new?
Three-straight losses for the #Sabres pic.twitter.com/0vpfXBqmDX
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 20, 2017
Scoring woes have been one of the Sabres biggest problems all season. For some perspective, the Sabres have the fewest goals scored this season [72 in 34 games played] and have six fewer goals than the second-lowest scoring team [Arizona].
Time for Reinhart to step up
As the third period began, Sam Reinhart found himself on the bench for most of the final frame. Reinhart finished with just 11:05 of ice time, less than all of his teammates not named Zemgus Girgensons.
Sam Reinhart had just 2:05 of ice time in the third period #Sabres
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 20, 2017
For the former second-overall pick, it has been a horrendous start to the season with just 11 points in 34 games. If Reinhart doesn't take a big-step forward soon, he may find himself in the press-box as a wake-up call.
Another solid outing
What is Robin Lehner supposed to do? Once again, Lehner had a solid night but got no run support from his team. It wasn't necessarily his prettiest performance but when it was all said and done he allowed only one goal on 32 shots.
After the Bruins first goal from Jake DeBrusk, several fans voiced their displeasure with Lehner. Chances are, Lehner would say he wants that goal back but it was a perfect shot from DeBrusk. That poor water bottle never stood a chance.
Off to a fast start
In the first period, the Sabres looked well-rested and took advantage of a team that played less than 24 hours prior. Unfortunately for the blue and gold, they weren't able to find the back of the net on any of their 17 first-period shots.
Not to fret, this is how the Sabres need to play. They aren't going to get 17 shots every period but early on the Sabres did a great job getting their defensemen involved. On several occasions, defensemen were firing shots on Bruins' goaltender Anton Khudobin from the point with traffic in front of the net. Their efforts weren't rewarded but they created several quality chances in the *process*.
Friendly reminder
Now seems like the perfect time to remind you that at midnight the NHL roster freeze will begin. The eight-day roster stand-still will expire after the holiday at 12:01 a.m. on December 28th.
Moral of the story -- Go ahead and turn your phone on silent during the holiday. You're not going to miss any big trades.
