Buffalo Sabres Open West Coast Trip With A Loss

Passes that are a little off, shots that are a little wide.  The Buffalo Sabres played a good game against the red-hot Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night, but not good enough to beat them.  Anaheim's Sam Vatenen scored a second period power play goal and the Ducks defense made it hold up in a 1-0 win over the Sabres for Anaheim's sixth straight win.

Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner stopped 28 of 29 shots, but it wasn't enough for a Sabres team that had a tough time generating offense.  The Sabres finished 0 for 3 on the power play.  Brian Gionta led the Sabres with seven shots on goal.

The Sabres have two more games on the trip with games in San Jose and Los Angeles.  Instead of traveling the 45 minutes from Anaheim to Los Angeles, the brilliant NHL schedule makers have the Sabres flying north to San Jose for a game Friday night, then returning to southern California again for a game against L-A on Saturday.