BUFFALO, N.Y. — In front of a sold out crowd on opening night at the KeyBank Center, the Buffalo Sabres fell to the New York Rangers 5-1 on Thursday night.
There was surely a lot of pre-game energy and excitement from the team and fans as the late hall of fame broadcaster Rick Jeanneret was honored once again prior to puck drop with the new "RJ Way" stretch on the corner of Perry and Illinois street.
However, after three quick and unanswered goals on the Sabres rookie Goaltender Devon Levi, head coach Don Granato said that it was instantly a very tough hole to dig themselves out of.
“It was a challenging night," Granato said. "You get scored on twice in the first, I think maybe three chances against. It's tough sledding. Especially in this scenario where you're not in a rhythm and you haven't played games in a regular season yet. So, we fought hard the rest of the game to try to dig out of it.”
The Rangers also blocked a total of 23 shots on the night which Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said caused a lot of frustration.
"We just never got any momentum going in that game," Okposo. "They blocked a lot of shots, they were extremely disciplined defensively and we got frustrated."
The lone goal scorer for Buffalo, Forward JJ Peterka, added that there are several things this team will need to focus on moving forward.
"Just sticking to our game plan, finding your lanes, getting more open and probably moving your feet more," Peterka said.
The Sabres will now look ahead to their next matchup on Saturday when the team will hit the road and face the New York Islanders at 7:30 pm.
