Sabres Fall Out of Playoff Spot After Losing to Wild

The Buffalo Sabres had 87 shot attempts in trying to solve Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, but ultimately could not in the 1-0 shutout loss. The defeat snaps Buffalo’s three-game winning streak. The Sabres fell out of the last Wild Card spot heading into Thanksgiving, as the Boston Bruins leapfrogged with their win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

The Sabres controlled most of the first period, outshooting the Wild 16-4. Minnesota scored the lone goal of the period – and the game – on a pretty passing play finished off by Kirill Kaprizov. Rasmus Dahlin turned the puck over in the offensive zone on a pinch, which resulted in a four-on-one in the other direction.

It was one of Buffalo’s cleanest games of the season, despite giving up the lone marker. The Sabres were not charged with any penalties and gave up only 1.62 expected goals, per Evolving-Hockey’s model.

Process Over Results

Not only did the Sabres dominate the shot attempts 87-55, but they doubled up the shot quality on the Wild as well. That’s an impressive feat against a team with the third-best points percentage in the NHL standings.

Jack Quinn’s night was a microcosm of the game, as he recorded a team-high six shots on goal. Quinn’s slump is leaving more to be desired, but the signs are there recently that he may be on the brink of a turnaround.

“There’s been a stretch this year where I haven’t got looks at all,” Quinn said postgame. “I know how good I am that, if I do get those looks, they’ll go in.”

The Sabres are starting to show the consistently correct process. Even if the positive results aren’t there every night, they’re bound to come.

More: Rollercoaster Season Taking Right Turn for Sabres in Standings

Thompson’s Return from Injury

Tage Thompson was Buffalo’s best skater in his return from injury. He picked up right where he left off, minus the goal-scoring.

When Thompson was on the ice, the Sabres had over 60% of the shot share, shot attempts, and shot quality. The imposing performance proves that slow-playing his recovery was the correct move.

Cozens’ Line in Shutdown Role

The most interesting matchup of the night was the Sabres trotting Dylan Cozens, Zach Benson, and Peyton Krebs out against the outstanding Wild trio of Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy. The results were not pretty, with a sub-30% shot share and shot quality share.

The line was not out there when Kaprizov scored, but they were pinned in the defensive end for much of the time they were drawing that matchup. All in all, it was one of the toughest assignments anyone could draw.

“They did a good job,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “That is probably one of the best lines we faced that can generate. They’ve got everything – they’ve got speed, they’ve got playmaking ability, they’ve got shooters. So for those guys to be able to handle them for the most part, I like the job they did.”

What’s Next

The Buffalo Sabres have a Black Friday afternoon special next as they host the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are 11-7-3 but have an incredible 8-2-0 record on the road. They currently sit third in the Pacific as they try to sort things out without one of their best players, J.T. Miller, who is on a personal leave of absence.