BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The struggles continue and it hasn't been a pretty November thus far for the Buffalo Sabres. On Tuesday evening, the Sabres fell to the Minnesota Wild in a 4-1 game and with the loss, dropped to 10-8-3 on the season. They'll be back on the ice Thursday when they travel to Boston.
Three observations from the game
Cheers for Jack
No, cheers didn't ring down from the seats because the Sabres captain scored another goal. More than midway through the second period, Eichel dropped his gloves and got into it with Joel Eriksson Ek. It was a fight that brought fans to their feet for the first time all night. Eichel wound up getting a double-minor for roughing but it didn't cost the team anything after they (surprisingly) killed the penalty. It's not often we see Eichel getting into it and it was good to see him just let it out at the moment.
Oh my Mittelstadt
Casey Mittelstadt has been lackluster the past few weeks to say the least. He's made some not so good and some really bad plays, and tonight was no different. In the first period, Mittelstadt turned the puck over in the neutral zone and it took just a few seconds for the Wild to capitalize and take a 1-0 lead. Mittelstadt hasn't picked up a point since October 22nd and time is ticking for the soon to be 21-year-old to start making plays on a more consistent basis. Fans are frustrated and have a right to be.
No good November
When it came to the team's performance following the first month of the season, we called it "Outstanding October". Halfway through the new month, we're calling it "No good November". The Sabres are 1-6-1 through eight games this month and now go on the road for games in Boston, Sunrise, and Tampa Bay. They have six games to play in the next ten days including that East coast road trip. This team needs to pick up a few wins in that stretch or things can get ugly quite quickly.
