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<\/p>\n\u201cI thought we started off really good,\u201d said Thompson, who snapped a seven-game goalless drought dating back to Game 1 of Buffalo\u2019s first-round series against the Boston Bruins. \u201cThere were spurts throughout the game where we thought we got to our game and played to our standard, but just not consistent enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s lack of discipline, coupled with poor puck decisions made throughout the opening three games of the series, have been particular areas of concern for Ruff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be smarter,\u201d said Ruff. \u201cWe took five offensive zone penalties. Our discipline from that wasn\u2019t good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sabres have taken 13 penalties in three games, after recording just 16 total infractions through their entire six-game, opening round matchup with the Bruins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a skilled team,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThey have a lot of players that can make plays and score. You give them opportunities and they don\u2019t need a whole lot to put it in the back of the net.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson also pointed to his team\u2019s lack of composure throughout Game 3 as a catalyst behind his team\u2019s shortcomings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we got a little too emotional tonight, too,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWe talk about it all the time, just staying even-keeled. Highs and lows, just try to stay right in the middle. I thought tonight we really let our emotions kind of get the better of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
One aspect of their game Buffalo did like on Sunday, however, was the team\u2019s play while up a man.<\/p>\n
The Sabres went 1-for-4 with the man advantage, thanks to a Rasmus Dahlin power-play goal in the second period that cut Buffalo\u2019s deficit to 4-2.<\/p>\n
Buffalo also generated ample scoring chances on two successive power-play opportunities in the third period, but couldn\u2019t score.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought our power play did everything but score,\u201d said Ruff. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to give their goaltender a lot of credit. He made some great saves, especially when we were trying to make it 4-3.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sabres have already scored three power-play goals through three games this series, after scoring just one goal across 24 such opportunities in the first round.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was probably the least frustrating game as far as the power play goes,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cIt felt like we really got a lot of momentum from our chances there, built some life for our group. Anytime you\u2019re snapping it around like that and getting looks, it gives your team some momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffalo now finds itself in uncharted waters, having dropped consecutive games to trail in a series for the first time in this post-season.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Thompson remains confident in his team\u2019s ability to respond positively, beginning with Game 4 back at Bell Centre on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had our backs against the wall the entire season,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWe dug ourselves out of a hole and found a way. It\u2019s not something that is foreign to us by any means. It\u2019s been two games. We\u2019re not too concerned. I think everyone in the room believes in each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what we need to do, it\u2019s not a secret. It\u2019s just going to come down to will and competing harder. I think we have the guys that can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI thought we started off really good,\u201d said Thompson, who snapped a seven-game goalless drought dating back to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[50],"class_list":{"0":"post-40064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-montreal","8":"tag-montreal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}