The Vegas Golden Knights (31-23-14) saw their two-game winning streak come to an end in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Josh Doan scored the game-winning goal in the final two minutes of the opening period, and Buffalo sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 58 seconds remaining in the third.
The Golden Knights were coming off back-to-back wins against Pittsburgh and Chicago but were kept off the scoresheet for the second time this month after falling 5-0 to the Penguins on March 1.
Sabres netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was fantastic, stopping all 27 shots he faced and ultimately out-performing Adin Hill, who turned aside 23 of 24 shots for a .958 save percentage.
But even though the Golden Knights had their chances throughout, including several great looks on the power play, they couldn’t solve the Sabres netminder.
At the end of the day, Luukkonen’s masterful performance in his first shutout of the year was the difference.
That doens’t mean Hill didn’t have a strong game, though. He did.
He made many clutch saves, including one on Josh Norris to bail out Noah Hanifin after he fanned on the puck. He also took care of multiple odd-man rushes in the second period and was sharp throughout the game.
However, it was his mistake that led to the game-winner.
It was similar to something that happened Saturday against Chicago, although this time it ended up in the back of the net.
Hill went around the net but misplayed the puck, allowing for Doan to bank it off Hill’s pad. It was a tough goal to give up, but it was the only one he surrendered in 59:29 of action.
Another potential turning point in the game came when Brayden McNabb delivered a massive check on Zach Benson, which drew attention from the Sabres bench. McNabb was assessed a major penalty so the officials could review the hit, which they deemed to be a clean check.
Bruce Cassidy said he was a little confused why Vegas didn’t end up with a power play given the instigator rule, but he said the hit “sure looked clean the whole way. … [McNabb’s] shoulder’s down the whole way.”
In the end, however, the Golden Knights were unable to net the equalizer. Mitch Marner hit the cross-bar late, but Norris scored on the empty net at 19:02 to ice the 2-0 win.
The Golden Knights had their chances, they just couldn’t execute.
“The only difference in the game is a misplay behind the net,” Cassidy said. “[Luukkonen] made a lot of saves, and then when we beat him, we hit the bar or missed the net. Offensively, the numbers are going to look great, yet it’s a goose egg. There’s no consolation in that. We needed to finish better.”
But Cassidy wasn’t discouraged by Vegas’ performance.
“You’re going to lose games,” the Vegas bench boss said. “I’m not disappointed the way we played, I’m not upset. … [The Sabres] made the play, and it was a kind of nothing play that ends up being the game-winner. It’s happening too often where we gotta overcome that or be the ones making the difference.”
The Golden Knights played well but ran into a goalie at the top of his game. Plus, the Sabres have been the hottest team in the NHL since returning from the Olympic break.
That being said, every point is important, and the Golden Knights need to accumulate as many of them as possible. This was a 1-0 game late in the third period, so it was a missed opportunity, even if it came against a worthy opponent.
The Golden Knights are now in third place in the Pacific Division with 76 points, one behind Edmonton as well as Anaheim, though the Ducks have a game in hand. But Vegas is running out of breathing room in a tight playoff race.
The Golden Knights will wrap up this four-game homestand on Thursday with the Utah Mammoth in town.