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 | Things got chippy and ugly in the third period of a blowout in Tampa Bay. | | Tampa Bay - December 5, 2014 - Following every Sabres game, we’ll be taking a little look at the previous night’s action with a little segment called “good, bad and ugly”. Expect a loooooooot of ugly.
Welp, that was a hard crash back to Earth. Let’s get into the 5-0 loss to the Lightning last night.
The Good
The Sabres didn’t warrant anything for this section, so it’s gonna be a little Lightning-centric. That said: man, they are deep offensively. Stamkos was and is the star, obviously, and looked the part with a goal and two assists. That kind of dynamic offensive ability doesn’t stay quiet long.
But past that, they get contributions from everyone. Radko Gudas opened the scoring, Brendan Morrow and Jason Garrison followed Stamkos in the second and Brett Connolly – a talented young player in his own right who gets overshadowed by all the talent in Tampa – finished it off with a late power play goal.
The Lightning are going to be Eastern Conference heavies this year and there might not be a better offense in the conference.
The Bad
I always knew this team was playing way above its head, but man what a fall back to Earth. That was as ugly a game as it gets and it didn’t get any better when things got extra chippy in the third period. Stamkos and Mike Weber got into a slashing contest, there was a fight and then Nikita Zadorov and Victor Hedman got game misconducts.
It’s bad enough to lose, but when things get embarrassing late, it looks even worse. Getting embarrassed on the score sheet and in the penalty box almost makes it difficult to remember the Sabres were rolling into this one as winners of six of seven, including their last meeting with the Bolts.
The Ugly
And just like that, the offense evaporated. Granted, it’s not like the team was scoring in bunches during this winning streak, but they at least looked somewhat competent over that stretch. But last night? How in the hell, as an NHL team, do you manage 13 shots in a game? Just throw the puck at the net and you’ll luck your way into 20!
Ben Bishop is a fantastic goalie, but it’s easy to look legendary when the other team can’t even figure out which direction the net is in. By the second period, he looked like he was dying for a Sudoku puzzle to keep him occupied.
Anyone worried about the tank can stop right now.
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