[ad_1]
NEWARK, N.J. – Have you noticed those forks on the front of New Jersey Devils pullovers? You can stick them to the Buffalo Sabers season.
Unless something totally unexpected happens in the coming weeks, it's clear that this club will not be playing in the playoffs for the eighth season in a row.
Coach Phil Housley said Friday night that his team was playing "soft" and that no one at KeyBank Center would disagree. Called by their coach after a putrid defeat against the New York Rangers, the Sabers' response was the main theme of Sunday's game at the Prudential Center.
Well, the Sabers have clearly explained what they are made of.
Sunday's 4-1 defeat by the Devils was not a scandalous performance. The Sabers had a 35-24 advantage in shots on goal and had 21 more attempts. They often had the puck. They just did not do enough. They did not defend at key moments either.
The Wraparound: New Jersey Devils 4, Buffalo Sabers 1
While the standings show that the Sabers have six points on a place in the playoffs with 24 games to play, the reality paints a picture much harder. It is well known that it's been two months and it's been counting since the Sabers won two meager games in a row.
But understand this: since January 1st, the Sabers are 7-10-1 – and tied with Ottawa for the lowest number of points in the Eastern Conference. Over this period, they are 22nd in the NHL in goals for (52) and 23rd in goals against (66).
This is an interesting thrust in series.
"Are we toast?" Winger Sam Reinhart said with a nervous laugh as he repeated a question. "It's a way of looking at things, but no, we certainly think we're right in the mix … It does not make things easy for other winning teams, but no, we do not think we We do not need a lot to turn back, and at the end of the day we have to give up, but yes, we have to start earning more points soon. "
Housley was not really in the mood to return to his squad and was already talking about Tuesday's game in Florida, a team that has beaten the Sabers in seven of the past eight games.
"I believe in our group, I believe in these guys," Housley said. "They came back, they answered correctly, they were ready to play, it was not our night, I know it's disappointing, but we have a big game against Florida. this case, always fighting and that's how we are going to see things. "
Saying that he was playing for the worst team in the East in the last six weeks, Zach Bogosian with steel eyes tried to play the questioner himself.
"We are confident with each other," said the veteran defender with challenge. "Are you?"
When asked what gave him confidence that a turnaround was imminent, Bogosian defended his teammates.
"Because of the guys we have in our room," he said. "I know the character we have in this room, that's what I believe in. I believe in all the guys here."
As noted, the Sabers have had an offensive attack on this one. Reinhart, Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen and Evan Rodrigues all scored at least four shots on goal. But there was not enough second and third chances and not enough traffic in front of the net.
The Sabers thus became a star of the scoring New Jersey goalie, Cory Schneider, who had broken a 21-match winless streak that lasted over a year Friday night in Minnesota.
Schneider has entered the game with awful statistics this season – an average of 3.96 goals allowed and a .873 efficiency percentage. Against Buffalo, he stopped 34 of 35 shots to improve his career mark at 9-3-3 against the Sabers.
Jason Pominville scored a power play goal in the first period. In the second half, Eichel was stopped in the same way as Casey Mittelstadt's reverse at close range. Johan Larsson had a good chance in the third period. No die. That was just about everything.
"We did not feel that we had enough," said Reinhart. "I looked up at the third and we had several shots." From what I could understand, there was not enough second and third opportunities around him We need to focus more on simplicity and simplicity to get clean bodies. "
The Sabers have headed to the airport to continue their journey on the road, but one has the impression that they are heading nowhere else than in warm weather. The time for general manager Jason Botterill to do something to stem the tide seems gone, even though the trading deadline is only seven days.
The Rangers and the Devils – who entered the game at 29th – were the underperforming clubs and Buffalo got no points. And after the match in Florida, check the schedule for the future.
He still reads in Tampa Bay, Washington, Toronto, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
In the immortal word of former NFL coach Jim Mora: Playoffs?
[ad_2]
Source link