The Buffalo Sabres have officially earned their respect

It may be time for people to start respecting this Buffalo Sabres team. This team has surprised pretty much every single hockey fan so far this season. With a record of 4-1-1 and some quality wins at the beginning of the season, this team has earned the right to be talked about.

Last night was the Sabres’ most impressive win of the season by far. A 5-1 victory over the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning should be enough to open some eyes around the league.  Buffalo has now gotten at least one point in all of their games except one.

Buffalo has been on a tear to start out the season. They have outscored their opponents by the score of 20-13 through their first six games. This includes beating both teams that were playing for a Stanley Cup at the end of last season, each game ending in a 5-1 victory for the Sabres.

It is safe to say that pretty much everyone was ready to call Buffalo’s season a total loss before it even started. Everyone except for the Sabres themselves that is. But they have come out and proved a lot of people wrong to start out the season.

Players that fans rolled their eyes at this offseason have stepped up huge so far to start the year. A perfect example of this is Craig Anderson. He has had somewhat of a career resurgence in Buffalo as he has posted a .944 save percentage and a 1.76 goals allowed average in his first four starts of the year.

The Sabres have gotten off to this hot start mostly without two of their main starters in Casey Mittelstadt and Henri Jokiharju. Both of them suffered an injury in the first game of the season and remain out for a least a few more games. But in their absence, the Sabres have gone 3-1-1.

It is tough to tell if Buffalo’s early-season success will carry on, but they have definitely earned their respect thus far this year.