Coming off a brutal 6-3 loss to Columbus in their season opener, the Buffalo Sabres are staring down a home opener tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, and honestly, the vibes are already off. That Thursday night game against the Blue Jackets? Yeah, it was a special teams trainwreck that flat out cost them the W.
Rough Start: Special Teams Meltdown Is No Joke
Seriously, you gotta be kidding me with these special teams numbers. Against Columbus, the Sabres went 0-for-5 on the power play. ZERO for five! And it gets worse: their penalty kill was just 1-of-3. That’s a disaster, plain and simple. Head coach Lindy Ruff didn’t mince words about it either, and you gotta respect that honesty. He said, “Some of the puck decisions, 5-on-4, we had a couple good looks, and 5-on-3, there were a couple times I just thought we deferred to the play that wasn’t there.” He didn’t stop there, either. Ruff called out the whole team, saying, “Our whole game, really, we tried to be a little bit too fancy. That was 5-on-4 and that was 5-on-5. We had guys in the slot. We were passing pucks to the perimeter. I think that was a little bit of our demise, also.” When your coach is saying you’re “too fancy” and “passing pucks to the perimeter” when guys are in the slot, you know there’s a problem. This is early season, but these are fundamental errors that need to be cleaned up ASAP.
Hawks Flying Lower Than Ever: A Chance for Redemption?
Now, as bad as the Sabres looked, the Blackhawks are somehow in even worse shape. We’re talking two losses already, by a combined score of 11-2. Yikes. That’s not a typo, folks. Eleven goals given up in two games, and only two scored. It’s gotta be a tough look for former Sabres Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway, who are making their return to KeyBank Center tonight after getting traded over the summer. But for Buffalo, this isn’t just another game. This is a chance to reset the narrative, to prove Ruff’s words lit a fire, and to show they can actually convert when it matters.
Tonight’s game is more than just a home opener for the Sabres; it’s a test. Can they fix those absolutely crucial special teams issues against a struggling Blackhawks squad? Or will those early season struggles continue to define them? Kickoff is a little after 7 p.m., and everyone will be watching to see if Buffalo can turn this ship around before it completely sinks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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