Buffalo Sabres prove they don’t need 40 shots on goal every game

The Buffalo Sabres did just about everything right in the third period in their big win over one of the NHL’s model franchises, the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Sure, the Buffalo Sabres got off to a slow start, with the Penguins shutting them out in the first 39 minutes of the contest. Then J.J. Peterka put Buffalo on the board, logging his third goal of the season with an assist from Owen Power and Rasmus Asplund.

Then, disaster struck just eight seconds into the third period, when Jake Guentzel found himself on a breakaway and got one past goaltender Eric Comrie for a power play goal. The goal put the Penguins up 3-1, but Sabres fans only had to flashback to their epic win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks to hold onto hope.

Or, to the Penguins collapse vs. the Boston Bruins just 24 hours ago. Three minutes later, Tage Thompson put the Sabres within a point with Rasmus Dahlin and Jeff Skinner on the helpers. The goal was Tage’s seventh of the season while Dahlin and Skinner logged their seventh assists. Yep, 7-7-7, and the luck was just about to roll Buffalo’s way.

Buffalo Sabres only needed 33 SOG to beat Penguins

Of course, the Sabres still needed some work to do, and as I stood watching the closing period from my local gym, I caught the vibe. Why? Because Victor Olofsson snuck into the circle virtually unnoticed. Owen Power just needed to realize his teammate was there.

You know what happened next, and it’s what makes Olofsson such a dangerous player at times. The goal was Olofsson’s seventh of the season, and it knotted the game at three. Halfway through the third, Alex Tuch scored his seventh of the year, with Thompson and Skinner logging their seventh and eighth assists, respectively.

Kyle Okposo and Olofsson iced the game with empty-netters, and it totaled six goals on 33 shots on goal, good for an 18.1% conversion percentage. Want more fun? The Sabres only needed 31 SOG to score four goals, leaving Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith with a 0.871 save percentage.

During the homestand, there were times the Sabres logged way too many shots but not enough goals, even during their 4-3 win over Chicago. Their 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens was a different story and while it showed puck aggression, it also showed that the Sabres were too predictable.

That wasn’t the case during the final period, where the Sabres connected on five of their 13 shots on goal. Now 7-4-0, Buffalo will embark on their second road trip of the season, and a mighty Carolina Hurricanes team awaits them.

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(Statistics provided by NHL.com)