Skinner lapses, defensive miscues and more: 3 reasons why Edmonton Oilers lost 3-2 to Buffalo Sabres

The Edmonton Oilers lost a close one-goal game, 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at KeyBank Center. With the defeat, the Oilers’ two-game winning streak came to an end. The win snapped a six-game skid for the Sabres.

Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard (PPG) scored for the Oilers. Meanwhile, Tage Thompson scored twice for the Sabres with Alex Tuch getting the other tally.

Here’s a closer look at three key reasons why Edmonton lost to Buffalo on Monday night.

3 reasons why Edmonton Oilers lost 3-2 to Buffalo Sabres

#3. Oilers depth scoring couldn’t get past Sabres defense

The Edmonton Oilers ran into a tough Buffalo Sabres defense that just wouldn’t allow them much room to maneuver. While Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl got three assists between them, the Sabres did an excellent job of keeping the Oilers’ depth scorers off the scoresheet.

Players like Zach Hyman, Viktor Arvidsson, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were essentially nonfactors on Monday night. Moreover, Sabres’ netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did a terrific job of keeping the Oilers in check. Luukkonen made 32 saves to keep the Sabres in the game.

#2. Defensive miscues

Overall, the Edmonton Oilers played a solid game on Monday night. However, the Sabres did a good job of taking advantage of the rare defensive miscues the Oilers showed. A good example was Tage Thompson’s game-winner.

Here’s a look:

The replay shows how Thompson beat both Evan Bouchard and forward Vasily Podkolzing, making a nifty move to beat Stuart Skinner for the goal. The costly defensive miscue was enough to lift the Sabres past the Oilers and take the two points.

#1. Skinner’s lapses

Like the Oilers’ overall defensive miscues, Stuart Skinner showed a crucial lapse in the second Buffalo goal. The shot from Alex Tuch completely fooled Skinner, making him look out of place on the play.

Here’s a look at the goal:

Skinner seemed to anticipate a different type of shot. However, it seems he was fooled and caught out of position. The goal gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at the time. While the Oilers came back to tie the game, the Sabres won the contest in the end.

The Oilers will be back on the ice on Thursday night as they visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. Edmonton will be looking to get back in the win column in the second game of their Eastern Conference swing.