ICYMI: Blues 2, Sabres 1

This one hurts. 

It was a rough night for Buffalo fans, especially for those who were cheering for the Bills as well. The Sabres had their chances, and with a lead after two periods, things were looking good. 

But the Sabres collapsed in the third period and the St. Louis Blues won, 2-1. 

There are no excuses for a loss like this. There were no penalties on which the Blues capitalized on, they simply outworked Buffalo for the final 20 minutes. 

Jake Allen has been solid all season and he showed why on Monday night. He stopped 24 of 25 shots and improved to 10-4-1 on the year. 

The score could have been a lot different (I suppose you could say that for any game) as the Sabres failed to connect on numerous opportunities. They had shots ring off the post two or three times and could’ve upped the lead.

“We had so many chances there that we’ve got to put them away early when we have them,” Ryan O’Reilly said said. “It’s not good enough. It’s embarrassing. We’ve got to hate to lose more. I think we’re too okay with losing. It’s not good. We have to find a way to close that game out.”

The Sabres are in the middle of a tough stretch, but there is no reason they shouldn’t be able to close this game out. Linus Ullmark kept them in it and did his part, too. 

Buffalo have now lost five games in a row, four of which were one-goal games. They fall to 8-11-2. Basically, if you’re like me, I consider that 8-13. Five games below .500. They had a chance to move above that .500 percent a few games ago, but haven’t won since. 

It’s discouraging to see the Sabres not close a game out like this. They’re going to have their ups and downs of course, but there are some signs we should be seeing that we aren’t. 

Only five goals in the last five games. Jack Eichel has gone six scoreless. The Sabres are in all of these games. They just need that extra effort or someone to step up and they’re not getting it.

Maybe it will come with time as this is a young team, but it has to happen. The Sabres will remain home to take on Nashville on Wednesday and Carolina on Friday.

I’d like to see a 60 minute performance against the Predators.