BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — For the second game in a row, the Power family was in the crowd to see their son. But this time around, the Sabres didn't get the results. Buffalo lost to the St. Louis Blues 6-2 on Thursday night.
A stellar night from Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko drove the opposition's success. He had three goals and two assists to help put the tilt out of reach. Buffalo is at home again on Saturday to host the Philadelphia Flyers.
Three observations from Thursday's game:
No answer after intermission:
Like they have in just about every game they've played in the last week, the Sabres jumped out to an early lead. Rasmus Asplund cashed in for his eighth gal of the season, and the first goal of the game.
But a pair of Sabres penalties saw Buffalo face a 5-on-3 situation towards the end of the first period. The momentum from David Perron's power play goal carried right over into the second period. In terms of time on the ice, the goals were only 41 seconds apart.
Being on the wrong end of those types of runs has plagued the Sabres all season long. There was a sign of life in the second period, but it clearly wasn't enough.
Milestones galore!
Sabres defenseman Owen Power made his home ice debut against St. Louis. The first overall pick has largely been rock solid throughout his first two games. In the second period, Power picked up his first point.
It was also Alex Tuch's first goal with Rick Jeanneret on the call. Every other game has been a road game, or a Dan Dunleavy game. In a one-on-one with 7 News, Tuch, a lifelong Sabres fan, shared his thoughts on scoring with RJ on the mic.
This is from a sit down we did a few months back. His first goal with RJ on the call was disallowed. I don’t believe he’s scored a goal at home with RJ in the booth. Now he has. pic.twitter.com/2K1EStrX5J
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) April 15, 2022
The secondary assist also marks Tage Thompson's 60th point of the year. That total is continuing to shatter the breakout center's prior career high. I wonder how many of the three— Power, Tuch, or Thompson— will stake a claim to that puck tonight.
Growing Pains
Power's first NHL assist was certainly a pretty one. He's also been sound in his own end for the most part. But St. Louis's fourth goal served as a reminder that the first overall pick will still have growing pains just like the rest of Buffalo's young core.
A pass through the neutral zone left Vladimir Tarasenko without additional numbers. Power got aggressive. Then he got turned around. Then he got burned.
The first overall pick was leading the Sabres in ice time before he made that mistake in the second period. He continued to be among Buffalo's leaders in that department the rest of the way. That's likely not going to change anytime soon. And hopefully, it doesn't change in the long term either.
