“Special Teams, Achilles’ Heel For Us” | Buffalo Sabres’ Erik Johnson After Loss To Boston Bruins

“Special Teams, Achilles’ Heel For Us” | Buffalo Sabres’ Erik Johnson After Loss To Boston Bruins

Basically boil down to special teams tonight or was is it more than that exactly what I was going to tell you well no matter what your question was special teams we have up three goals on the penalty kill Didn’t convert on the power play even uh 515 Bottom Line

Special teams uh killes seal for us tonight what was the biggest thing you’re part of the penalty kill uh what was the biggest thing as far as the penalty kill went well the first one um we tried to cut the play behind the net they made a good play in front vacated

The net front uh second one unfortunate off my foot third one off the end boards uh after they broke pressure and made a good play but you know for the most part it was good it was just um you know vacate a dangerous area of the ice in

The first one second one what can you do goes off a foot third one um you know not great but um bottom line of special teams no doubt it seemed like when you guys got your chances there were a lot wide good chances that went wide or over

The top of the net it seems like you maybe I don’t know if you guys are being a little too fine or or I mean your shot went in than net but it seemed like a lot of good chances went wider over the top uh you’re right again I think um

We’ve been like that all year we look for the perfect shot maybe the perfect play too often and sometimes the play is right in front of us take the easy shot sometimes I think we over complicate it and uh you know that’s for sure a factor

And um you know another uh another thing of emphasis that we kind of got to work on and clean up I mean it’s tough when you start the other teams break out when you shoot wide and rims around the boards and we’ve done that far too much

Not tonight but I think on the year to I mean um we want to look for the pretty play I think too often on that note Alex talked about kind of the snowball effect of overpassing how do you think you can not just you but the team can break out

Of that psyche when it just keeps happening well I mean um look where we are it it hasn’t worked so far so why not why not change it up I think uh you know when you’re struggling um sometimes Simplicity is the key and um we have a young skilled team in here that

Sometimes um we want to look for the perfect play and sometimes that’s just not the play to to make but um you know sometimes that comes with experience and uh going through things like this but um you know we got to snap out of it I know

It’s been a problem and you never want to get down to nothing but especially against this Hockey Club I mean as good as they are to nothing it just seems like a huge hole to get out of doesn’t it it does I mean uh and it’s listen

It’s a good hockey team but they experience too they they know what it takes to get it done and uh showed uh in Spades throughout the night tonight I think um you know there wasn’t a big moment in the game where it felt like um they were in danger of losing the lead

Um they sustained uh pressure when they needed to they scored when they needed to and um they capitalized on their chances especially on their power play like I said that was the difference can you put your finger on why you guys so often fall behind early in games no I I

I mean if we if we knew we’d do it um sometimes that just happens I’ve been on teams where that’s happened in the past before um I’ve been on teams where um we’ve been up in games uh early it’s that’s just I don’t know kind of the the

Theme this year it seems that um we’re playing from behind a lot especially at home and it’s it’s tough to play catchup in this league uh no matter what especially when you’re behind the eightball like that

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson spoke with the media after the team’s 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on December 27, 2023. He talked about the need for special teams to improve, and more.

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