DEFENSELESSIf there is some sort of solution for the leadership void and the defunct special teams on the Buffalo Sabres, it had better show itself soon.
The power play was powerless and the penalty killing was more like penalty massaging as the Sabres gave sold out HSBC Arena little to be happy about after the season opener.
After grabbing the first goal, a delayed penalty left the Stafford line out too long and resulted in a six on five equalizer.
The Sabres took the lead back after a nice transition set up from Afinogenov to Roy, but after two quick penalties by Buffalo, the Isles scored the tying and go ahead goals on the ensuing power plays.
After that, the Sabres would only tie it up again, twice, on goals by Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek before surrendering the lead permanently towards the end of the second.
After Vanek's goal in the second, Buffalo seemed to not have any answer to either DePietro or the Isles offense. The Sabres could have skated five forwards and probably seen the same result.
The power play was mere a continuation of the joke it was late last season and the penalty killing units couldn't kill a penalty with nine milimeter.
The most troubling part of the game was the tempo of play in the third period. There appeared to be no-one wearing blue and gold that was willing to sacrifice their body to block a shot, drop th e gloves, make a big hit, or even make some noise on the bench. This lack of leadership resulted in sloppy passing, sluggish skating and bad turnovers.
The Isles, on the other hand, seem to have a solid line that they managed to put together via free agency acquisitions after losing some key players this summer. I repeat, they lost players via free agency, but put together a solid line via free agency to compensate those losses.
The same can't be said about Buffalo. I'm not going even say the names anymore, since both are nestled in nicely with their new teams, but the leadership that said unmentionables provided in situations where the team needed to come from behind was not there, not even close.
Yes, it's only one game, but one home game with a road game the following night. Already, there is pressure to win, or else it's 0-2, and a poor tempo for the season's start.
Everyone keeps saying that X and Y are only two players. Remember, Hasek was only one and look how those few seasons went after he left.
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