Buffalo Sabres forward Peyton Krebs will be facing his hometown team on March 18th.
The Buffalo Sabres travel to Calgary to face the red-hot Flames in an affair that will serve as a homecoming for center/winger Peyton Krebs. Krebs, a native of Okotoks, Alberta, scored three goals in the past two games, and has really come into his own this season since arriving in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Sure, Krebs has flaws in his game. But that’s to be expected for a player who, before arriving in Buffalo, logged just 48 games of experience in the NHL. In my book, this makes Krebs essentially a rookie.
Can Krebs, Buffalo Sabres score an upset in Calgary?
So far, Krebs has 14 points in 26 games with the Sabres, with four of them coming in the last five games. Meanwhile, the Sabres have also enjoyed a hot first half in March, winning four of their previous six games.
Even more impressive, the Sabres are 7-3 this season when Krebs records at least one point. Their only losses? The overtime thriller to the Boston Bruins, the blowout to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and their hardfought loss to the St. Louis Blues.
When Krebs puts up points, it’s a sign the Sabres are at least going to give opponents a run, no matter how good they are. So if he stays hot against the Flames, the Sabres have a chance to pull it out.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Before their date with Calgary, the Sabres will make a quick stop in Edmonton to face the Oilers, a team fighting for their playoff lives on March 17th.
You can bet that, even if Krebs keeps up his pace during the road trip, the Calgary game will prove to be a tough obstacle. The Sabres have recently struggled when forced to play on back-to-back days, evidenced by their combined 9-1 debacle to the Los Angeles Kings and Florida Panthers earlier this month.
But maybe Krebs can give the Sabres a bit of leeway during his homecoming. We will know the verdict come Friday night.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)