Buffalo Sabres Game Day: How The Sabres Can Extinguish The Flames

Can the Buffalo Sabres follow the same blueprint that worked for them in Edmonton?

The Buffalo Sabres play their second of three games on this West Canada road trip tonight, facing the Calgary Flames in the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Coming off of their opening-night 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Sabres fans could not be blamed for being worried about how the team would fare against the like of the Edmonton Oilers and the Flames.

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After all, the Oilers and Flames are the sort of teams that appear to be the Buffalo Sabres’ worst nightmare: both teams are fast, skilled and capable of scoring 4+ goals per night, which is not the ideal match-up for a Sabres squad missing Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, and featuring some defensemen who are not exactly fleet-footed.

Imagine how surprised most of us were, then, when the Sabres dismantled the Oilers 6-2 Sunday evening. For the most part, the team played smart, disciplined hockey, and saw scoring from each of its lines. Robin Lehner was steady in goal, and as I pointed out yesterday, the combination of Buffalo’s Shutdown Line and the smart play of Josh Gorges rendered Connor McDavid absolutely ineffective.

So . . . will that same team show up tonight in Calgary? That, my friends, is the 6 Million Dollar Question, because the answer will determine who wins this game.

Sure, the Flames are currently 0-2-1, with two losses against the Oilers and a shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on their resume. Still, don’t underestimate the Flames: they managed to score 4 and 3 goals, respectively, in their losses to the Oilers. Johhny Gaudreau has yet to score a goal this season, but if he gets one tonight, he could damn well end the night with three or more. Rookie Matthew Tkachuk is also goalless in three games, but you know he is looking to prove that he deserves to remain on Calgary’s roster this season.

In, addition, the Flames decided to give ex-Sabres goaltender Chad Johnson the start against Vancouver, following Brian Elliott‘s shaky first two games with the team. The result? The Flames went from giving up 7 and 5 goals to the Oilers to surrendering only one against the Canucks, which means Johnson will get the start tonight against his former team. That’s right: there will not be any easy goals like the ones Cam Talbot gave up Sunday in Edmonton.

Sorry!

To recap: a hungry team. Some super-skilled players. A goaltender who many fans felt should have been Buffalo’s starting goalie this season.

How can the Buffalo Sabres win tonight, then?

Easy: play exactly how they played in Edmonton.

We all know that this version of the Sabres – the Eichel-less, Kane-less roster – is not going to score 6 goals in a game very often, but the way they played on Sunday would have produced 3-4 goals against a good number of NHL teams, as they dominated the Oilers from start to finish. If the Shutdown Line continues to start this season like it ended the 2015-16 season, the Sabres should be able to frustrate Calgary’s top line. From there, it as a matter of Buffalo getting some timely scoring from the second and third lines, and Robin Lehner getting some help from his defense so he can see the puck and not have to worry about bodies in front of his net.

Next: Matt Moulson: The Hero We Need, Not The Hero We Deserve

There are still a lot of question marks regarding this Buffalo Sabres team; namely, which team will show up on any given night? Until we see some consistency, it could be a frustrating few months for fans. Still, the Calgary Flames are a bit of a hot mess right now, and whether they are underachieving or just plain bad, they are a team the Sabres can beat if they play smart hockey. Cross your fingers and hope we see the good version of the Blue and Gold beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight!

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