Tuch slams Sabres' 'horseshit' collapse vs. Avalanche

Alex Tuch gave a harsh review of his Buffalo Sabres after they let a commanding four-goal lead go to waste against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

"It's honestly horseshit. Sorry, pardon my French, but it is," Tuch said following Buffalo's 5-4 loss. "We left (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen) hanging, we left each other hanging. We weren't working for each other after the first period.

"We thought it was gonna be easy, that they were just gonna go in a hole. That's former Stanley Cup champs over there. ... You can't give them opportunities like that. It's total crap."

The Sabres dominated the Avalanche in the opening frame, scoring three times in the first seven minutes - including two in an 11-second span - before chasing goalie Alexandar Georgiev with their fourth goal on their eighth shot.

Nathan MacKinnon got Colorado on the board in the second period, but the wheels truly fell off for Buffalo in the final stanza. The Avalanche lit the lamp three times before the midway mark of the period to tie it at 4-4, and Artturi Lehkonen potted their fifth unanswered goal with less than five minutes remaining.

Buffalo was outshot 17-7 in the third.

Tage Thompson said there was "a lot of panic" in the Sabres' game during the final two periods.

"We didn't look like we had any confidence to make plays or execute anything coming out of our zone," he explained. "It looked like when we had (the puck) on our stick, we didn't want it, just got rid of it. They obviously took advantage of that. ... Once they were in our zone, we were just running around."

The Sabres had built some momentum after sweeping their three-game West Coast trip. They've since lost their last four contests, including two shutouts. Buffalo now sits fifth in the Atlantic Division with an 11-12-2 record and .480 points percentage.

Though Tuch said these Sabres are "light-years ahead" of where they've been in earlier seasons, he's seemingly tired of finding lessons from tough losses.

"It's a little repetitive. ... It wasn't a good enough effort from any of the guys in this room, honestly," he said. "We just need to be better. Call it a learning experience, honestly, just don't forget how this feels because it sucks."

Tuesday's loss may have proved costly in more ways than one. Captain Rasmus Dahlin only took one shift in the third period before exiting with back spasms.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed the issue is related to the injury that sidelined the defenseman in the preseason. Dahlin initially suffered the ailment while passing the puck during Buffalo's first session of training camp in September.

Next up for the Sabres is a clash against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.