Buffalo Sabres bend, but don’t break in win against Chicago
By Sion Fawkes
It is official: The Buffalo Sabres have officially become a thorn in the Chicago Blackhawks sides in yet another epic win over Patrick Kane and co.
Midway through the third period, the Buffalo Sabres looked as though they ran out of fuel and were destined to drop their third straight. A third straight game to yet another goaltender with an ultra-high career GAA.
They looked so flat, I was getting a migraine just watching them. Then at the 11:55 mark of the third period, Tage Thompson finally got one past goaltender Arvid Soderblom to bring the game within one. Less than five minutes later at the 16:47 mark, Tage sunk another, which later forced overtime with the Sabres on the power play.
Then on the man advantage, who better to put this game away than power play specialist Victor Olofsson from the right-hand circle? Olofsson missed on his first attempt, but the Sabres regained possession, and star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin found and relayed the puck to the winger.
Victor Olofsson scores the OT winner.
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) October 30, 2022
Sabres come back from down 3-1 to win in overtime. pic.twitter.com/AEd9Z4OXMD
Buffalo Sabres win a nail-biter against Chicago
While it’s great to see the Sabres win, they had a lot of flaws in their game. Throughout most of the second period and half of the third, this team looked flat. They showed little physicality, were often caught out of position, and while they got the shots off, they once more became too predictable, making Soderblom look like an All-Star goaltender for a good period and a half.
This is a Sabres team that seriously needs to get more physical, as they logged just seven hits and 12 blocks. Sure, they were down three of their top six defensemen, but someone needs to step up, apply pressure, and make life miserable for an opponent for 60 minutes. Nobody in the blue and gold did that this evening.
It was great to see the power play go 2/3, especially against a Blackhawks team that is notorious for scoring shorthanded goals. They also need to find someone who can win faceoffs, as a 27.5% FOW% is beyond abysmal at the NHL level.
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In closing, I’ll sit back and enjoy this win. But I also can’t ignore the serious flaws that this team is currently facing. If they were playing a tougher opponent, this one could have been a blowout loss.
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(Statistics provided by NHL.com)