Thrashers Give Sabres First Loss

The Sabres came into Saturday night's game rather exhausted after arriving into Atlanta at 1:30 am from the Vancouver game. And boy did it show. The Thrashers piled 19 shots in the first period and converted on two of them. The Sabres eventually tied the game and lost the game 3-2 in a shootout.

Patrick Lalime probably had the best game he is going to have as a Sabre. He looked spectacular for the Sabres especially in the first and kept the Sabres in the game long enough to get at least one point. He does have a tell in the shootout though. Both Kozlov and Kovalchuk had the same move on Lalime which was high glove side. It almost looked like he was handcuffed by the shots.

The Sabres themselves looked very tired going into the game, not being able to get themselves out of the defensive zone. They only got 6 shots on net in the first and scored their first goal in the second. The fatigue is going to be an issue going into this schedule. They play the Bruins at home on Tuesday and then they travel again to face Minnesota and Colorado Thursday and Saturday. Taking two of three this week will solidfy this team's position as an elite team in the league this year.