Oilers help Sabres snap seven-game skid

Team shows no pulse in loss to Sabres

BUFFALO It’s one thing to get caught in a washing machine spin cycle and get your clock cleaned by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, but after walloping the Detroit Red Wings one night later, where was the rinse and repeat against a Buffalo Sabres team Friday that had lost seven straight games?

The Edmonton Oilers said all the right things after showing some character after the Blues no-show, saying it was only one game and they had to do it again against the Sabres, who had won just two of 10 home games.

Unfortunately, it was all lip service as the Sabres showed a pulse and the Oilers had none in a 3-1 loss with backup goalie Laurent Brossoit holding them in through 40 minutes, allowing a bullet by Jacob Josefson until giving up a softy on his glove side to Jack Eichel early in the third.

Kyle Okposo added the insurance marker into an empty net.

Three goals was plenty for the Sabres, who had a shutout until Yohann Auvitu beat Robin Lehner with 16 seconds left.

And the Oilers, who played Brossoit because Cam Talbot was sick, had almost nothing against a team that had given up 79 goals in 22 games.

They’re now 8-13-2, and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt they’re a bad team.

After stopping the first 22 shots, Brossoit was helpless on Josefson’s scorcher from the high-slot 14 minutes into the second after the third-line centre worked his way off the end boards, away from Auvitu and took Okposo’s on-the-tape feed.

The Sabres thought they’d gotten one eightand-a-half minutes into the second when Evander Kane jammed one past Brossoit after he put his mitt on the puck, but referee Ghislain Hebert blew the whistle to stop play a second before the puck dribbled into the net.

Brossoit had robbed Kane with a leg stop about 15 seconds earlier.

ON THE BENCH: Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom was sick with Eric Gryba taking his spot in the lineup ... The Oilers scratched winger Iiro Pakarinen ... Buffalo got their best defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen back after he’d missed nine games with an upper-body injury.