I liked the adjustment to 3 lines made by Maurice. Harkins sure added a spark to the top line, playing in straight lines, and showing a lot of poise and vision. But the winger combinations after that had limited chances. Connor-Laine really seemed off, trying to do too much by themselves. Copp did a decent job against Eichel. Ehlers-Rosie set up a couple of good chances. I though Eakin was very strong defensively, which helped. Even Bourque-Apples some moments, though Apples wasn't on today, in terms of quickness. Shore has been of late. Some of the forwards seemed in a slumber. Maybe it was the Sabres system maybe the afternoon timing.
The defense was the biggest problem. Other than Kulikov-Pionk there was no sustained offense. I was hoping Beaulieu-De Melo could have a 2nd pairing impact, but they couldn't keep the puck in. Beaulieu looked drunk, or injured, always a step too slow to react, and often off balance. De Melo was backing in way too much, and struggled to move the puck. The GWG is hard to decipher, but we are missing the 3rd player down low on the blue line stand, I didn't see who cheated or got caught on the wrong side. I hope Maurice thinks about putting De Melo with Morrissey next game. If he was good with Chabot in Ottawa, Beaulieu isn't that player, but Mo is a lot closer.
One thing that stood out to me is that Buffalo has some good RHD in Montour, Ristolainen, Miller and Jokiharju. I wonder if Chevy will make calls on any of them. You wonder if Niku wouldn't have been a better choice than Bitetto, in a game where the neutral zone was constantly clogged, to get the puck moving forward. Not a real boost of confidence for the kid.
Going up next against a tough Washington squad, Jets may have squandered an opportunity, and have to go back to climbing uphill.