Buffalo Sabres: 3 bold predictions for the road trip
The Buffalo Sabres head back on the road for tilts against the mighty New York Rangers and the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks
The Buffalo Sabres have yet to play well in back-to-back games. Yeah, they’ve won in their latest slate of back-to-back affairs, shutting out the Calgary Flames after a debilitating loss to the Edmonton Oilers. But still, the 1-0 shutout win was a struggle.
Following the win against the Flames, the Sabres followed up with wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks, both of which went into overtime. And while they could not hang on to beat the Washington Capitals in a shootout, they displayed immense growth in keeping the game close. Something that would not have happened earlier this season.
Now, a big test against the New York Rangers looms. The Rangers sit in third place in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division, boasting a record of 41-19-5 (87 points).
The Chicago Blackhawks, like the Sabres, are a team in transition with 58 points compared to the Sabres 55. However, at 7-3-1 this month, the Sabres have outplayed the Blackhawks (4-4-2 in their previous 10 games). The Sabres also, as everyone knows, have recently given playoff contenders all they could handle.
But let’s not start underestimating lower-tier hockey teams, and it’s a test the Sabres will face when they travel to Chicago. Especially if they upset the Rangers.
The Sabres, if they continue to play well against the NHL’s best teams, will eventually need to worry about trap games. And since Chicago is the worst team they have faced in a successful month, the Sabres need to at least consider the trap game possibility even if the two teams have identical records and point totals.
What can you expect for this latest mini-road trip? Here are three bold predictions.
One more overtime affair
Hey, the Sabres already had four of them, right? So what’s another one? But let’s get ultra-bold and say the Sabres-Rangers tilt does not go into overtime. Instead, the Sabres will face the Blackhawks in a trap game and the two teams will claw their way into overtime deadlocked with three goals apiece.
It’s a game where the Blackhawks, also a team with nothing to lose and a lot to prove, will give the Sabres a little taste of what they’ve been dishing out to teams. That said, the Blackhawks will rebound from a 3-1 deficit to force overtime, and the two teams will decide the game within the overtime period’s five minutes.
Let’s stay bold and predict a Sabres win. They’re three of four in overtime this month, so they’ve proven they can beat anyone in the extra period. Going ultra-bold, Rasmus Dahlin will score the game-winner as he did against the Canucks.
The Sabres survive the trap affair and it’ll be a lesson learned moving forward: Don’t underestimate so-called inferior opponents.
It’s something they should have learned given their own run against the NHL’s best. But after having become a better team in March, the Sabres are entering some unfamiliar territory. One in which they’re now, as of March 2022, expect to win games against teams like the Blackhawks.
Anderson/Tokarski shine in net
Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski figure to split starts for the road trip, barring anything unforeseen. And in their previous outings in March, both goaltenders have shined when called upon.
While Anderson saved less than 90% of shots on goal in two of his last five starts, he’s also logged games with .938, .944, and .968 save percentages. Tokarski logged the Sabres first shutout since October 2019 in a 1-0 thriller against the Flames, and played perhaps his best game against Washington on Friday.
For this road trip, look for Anderson to get hot again after a mediocre performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins and for Tokarski to log another memorable game. Another motivator for Tokarski is that he’s looking to at least continue his career somewhere come 2022-23, so every outing counts.
While Anderson is the clear frontrunner to stick around the Sabres locker room next season, it’s no guarantee he returns. Anderson will turn 41 in May, and he may either retire or opt to play somewhere closer to his Florida home.
Tokarski toiled in obscurity for nearly 13 seasons. So perhaps it’s not so bold to predict strong performances from now until the season ends in late April.
Sabres climb a rung
Perhaps it’s not so much of a bold prediction given the team’s recent success. However, just because a team has a good month does not mean they climb to the next level in the NHL’s hierarchy.
The Sabres have gone 11 seasons without a trip to the playoffs. In those 11 seasons, they had plenty of decent months. Even months where they were the best team in hockey.
But this time, it feels different. The Sabres are younger, a team still in transition who will continue to get younger this offseason. Therefore, it’s a much higher likelihood that this version of the Buffalo Sabres will stick together for at least another five seasons.
Look for the Sabres to log strong outings against both teams. Maybe they won’t win both games, maybe they will. But with continual strong outings both for this road trip and the remainder of the season, look for the Sabres to claw their way out of the league’s basement and rank somewhere at least between 24th and 27th on a routine basis in the power rankings.
In other words, their performance for this upcoming road trip will take them out of the bottom five in all facets of NHL spheres. They already showed they can win games against the league’s best. And now, they will solidify the fact that their recent string of success was no fluke.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)