Good things came in pairs during Sabres win, here’s who had them
The Buffalo Sabres bounced back in a big way Monday night, with a convincing win against their East Division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-1. The Sabres scored early and often with a shutout that lasted until late in the third period. The game was a long night for the Flyers goalies, who switched out mid-game to no avail.
One of the stats that stood out most during the Buffalo win was how many players had multiple points. Good things came in pairs for a handful of Sabres in the winning effort.
Curtis Lazar broke the ice to start the game with a goal early in the first period, then added a second goal midway through the second period. Sam Reinhart joined the party in the second period, adding two goals of his own, while captain Jack Eichel added 2 assists in the game, as did Taylor Hall.
While they didn’t log multiple points, there was a subtle correlation between the other two goals scored by the Sabres. They were netted by two of their Scandanavian youngsters, courtesy of 21-year-old Finnish defenseman Henri Jokiharju and 25-year-old Swedish winger Victor Olofsson.
The 2021 season saw little training camp time to gel and get some rhythm going for a team with many new faces. The Sabres lost close consecutive games to perennial playoff threat in the Washington Capitals to open the season last week.
Looking to make the necessary adjustments, coach Ralph Krueger has aimed to do just that, moving Dylan Cozens to the second line for Sunday’s practice and Monday’s game next to a healthy Eric Staal. The team has quickly adjusted to begin finding their rhythm together as the roster lines take shape.
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With a realigned Eastern Division in which Buffalo looks to make headway, wins like these take on even greater meaning as only four teams from each division will make the playoffs, an offseason goal of Eichel and the team. The Sabres looked hungry from the opening drop of the puck last night, a hunger that will hopefully carry over into tonight’s game in Philadelphia, as well as this upcoming weekend’s rematch games against Washington, and beyond.