3 Takeaways From the Sabres’ 4-1 Loss to the Mammoth

The last time we saw the Buffalo Sabres, they were getting dog-walked by the Dallas Stars. Every team has bad games, and the Stars are on the shortlist of contenders for the Stanley Cup, so there’s nothing to be done but write it off as a bad night.

Unfortunately, it may not have just been a bad night. The Sabres hosted the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night, and the results were just as ugly. They scored first, but that was as close as they got to a win, dropping a bad 4-1 decision to the visiting Mammoth.

Team Defense Was Awful

Though the Sabres have a few defensemen who could be legitimate No. 1s on other teams, none of that matters if everyone else isn’t on the same page. The offense wasn’t good against Utah, but team defense was ultimately what cost them.

There was far too much puck watching against the Mammoth. Yes, goaltending is an issue, but there wasn’t really anything Colten Ellis could do to win this game. About the only shot Ellis had a real chance at was the fourth goal by John Marino. The rest were passes across the crease.

It does not appear that reinforcements are coming in net, but that doesn’t matter if the team is going to play this way defensively. Even the best goalies in the league can’t do a whole lot about plays where they have to quickly move from one post to the other. Team defense hung Ellis out to dry.

The Power Play Scored

Something positive: the power play scored! They came into the contest on a 0-for-13 streak and were the last team without a power-play goal. Tage Thompson rushed up the right side and managed to slip one past Karel Vejmelka to get the monkey off their back.

While it’s encouraging and there are plenty of talented pieces that could help get them out of this slump, that was the extent of the positivity. They failed on their other three power plays, and the same issues – zone entries, effective puck movement – remain.

The Sabres were one of the best five-on-five teams in the league before these last two games. They will be okay in that regard, but they need to figure out the power play before it costs them a game they need.

Everyone Looked Flat

Teams often deal with one poor area of the team, be it bad defense, a lack of scoring, or shaky goaltending. But the worst thing any team can do is come out looking flat and disinterested, and that’s what the Sabres did.

They had a little jump in their step at the beginning of the game, but it feels like the goal by Kailer Yamamoto that tied it at 1-1 completely sapped whatever energy the Sabres had left. They were on their heels for the remainder of the game, never really getting themselves back into the mix.

If you want to put a positive spin on this kind of effort, it’s that it usually only lasts for one game here or there. The Sabres, unfortunately, have put together back-to-back dispirited efforts, and it bears watching how they respond next time out.

Two Bad Losses in a Row

Both the Stars and Mammoth games are the kind that you can easily write off if they are isolated. When they follow one another consecutively, it becomes a bit of a concern. The Sabres have a strong five-on-five attack that has completely disappeared over the last 120 minutes.

Regardless of the issues in net or on the power play, the effort has to be better. The turnaround is also short; the Florida Panthers come for a Sunday matinee. With the Panthers, a pair of games against the Montreal Canadiens, and a trip to the capital to face the Washington Capitals, the Sabres need to figure things out quickly, or this could become an ugly start to the season.