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JJ Peterka, Buffalo Sabres (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

3 Takeaways From Sabres’ 6-5 Loss to the Penguins

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Ryan Womeldorf | Last updated 10/17/24

Coming into Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres were starting to feel good. Beating the defending Stanley Cup champions 5-2 will have that effect. Going into Pittsburgh and grabbing two points would do an awful lot toward undoing the 0-3 start to the season.

Instead, we were treated to one of the wildest games of the young season. The Sabres were exciting but inconsistent, dropping the game 6-5 in overtime. While it was nice getting a point, it feels like the Sabres definitely should have walked away with one more. Here are three things worth noting from the team’s disappointing 6-5 overtime loss.

The Offense Is Finally Waking Up

Putting up five more goals in the wake of a five-goal effort against the Panthers is nice. Given that this group managed a cumulative three goals in three games before that, it’s definitely something worth being happy about.

The Sabres dominated the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 10 but still lost, and there were flashes of that here. They controlled the game early, collapsed in the second, came back, then ultimately could not hold on. Tage Thompson has been one of the most noticeable Sabres so far and J.J. Peterka was outstanding offensively.

There was a stretch where it felt like Pittsburgh’s backup was going to Superman them to a win – and that was probably a contributing factor. It would be nice if they could hit the net more, though. They currently lead the league in missed shots and that’s definitely not a stat you want to be at the top of the list for.

The Inconsistent Effort Is Still There

One of the things that jumped out about the Sabres a season ago was the inconsistency of their effort. They would have one great period, completely disappear the next, then struggle to stay in it. That’s basically what happened here.

The Sabres dominated the first period, getting out to an early 3-1 lead. It was all Penguins in the second period and the Sabres didn’t really start showing life until the middle of the third when it was 4-3 Pittsburgh.

It might sound like a cliché but there really needs to be a full 60-minute effort out of this team. They stopped skating in the second period and again at the end of regulation. The penalty to Thompson in overtime sealed it but just underscored how inconsistent the Sabres were over the course of the night.

Matt Ellis Needs to Be Fired Part II

This may have to be an ongoing takeaway. The Sabres are now one of just three teams who have yet to score a power play goal in 2024-25. They are 0-for-15 on the season and have had very few chances that looked like they might actually be a threat to score.

Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres (Evan Sabourin / The Hockey Writers)

Matt Ellis had his fingerprints on the power play a season ago and it was one of the worst units in the entire league. He may not have 100% autonomy over the unit this season, but he’s still the common denominator. There is simply too much talent in this group to be as bad as it is.

The Sabres are not going to catch fire if they can’t score with a man up. In no world should they score five goals at even strength and still lose, yet here we are. The power play is becoming an albatross, but there is still time to fix things.

There Are Positives to Be Had

The first three games of the season were massively disappointing for different reasons. The team has looked alive the past two games, especially on the offensive end. There is a lot of season left ahead but each loss just makes the margin for error a lot smaller.

We are beginning to see contributions from throughout the lineup, an important piece of the puzzle for the Sabres. Getting right against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight is a must or things could start to spiral in the wrong direction.