Kyle Okposo promised us after the first game of the season that his team would show passion and heart and play an entertaining brand of hockey. This past weekend the rest of the guys on his team finally lived up to that promise. The only problem was that it was just another couple of losses for the Buffalo Sabres.
Friday night the Sabres faced a red-hot Rangers squad and battled hard all the way to the end of the game. They skated hard, won some puck battles, got some scoring chances, and got great goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the final period, the Sabres worked hard and got the tying goal from Victor Olofsson with a little more than a minute to go. The goal came off the board after the replay officials determined incorrectly that Rasmus Dahlin was offside. The league apologized for the replay gaffe, admitting that the goal should have counted.
Even after the disappointment of having the tying goal swiped away from them, the Sabres continued to fight to the final horn. Tage Thompson had a glorious chance with about a half-minute to go but he hit the post and the game ended 2-1, running the winless streak to six games.
Saturday night the Sabres once again put up a great fight against a team that is far better than they are. They outshot and outplayed the Washington Capitals for 40 minutes before running out of gas in the third period. The Capitals put 17 shots on goal in the third and tied the game, but the Sabres did at least manage to get things past regulation and get a point.
Tage Thompson once again rang one off the post in the overtime period, and then again in the shootout. Dylan Cozens also hit the post in the shootout. Cozens also had a shot earlier in the game that hit the post, then hit the goalie, and then trickled about two inches wide of the net.
If just a couple of the seemingly dozens of shots that went off the post over the weekend had gone into the net, the Sabers would have won both games in regulation.
Now it’s time to head out on a three-game road trip against the Jets, the Wild, and the Penguins. After losing seven in a row and looking at the upcoming opponents, one might assume the losing streak is most certainly headed to double digits. But if the Sabres continue to play with speed and determination, and if they continue to get good goaltending, they might be able to put a marker or two in the win column, especially if they can avoid the damned goal post.