The Buffalo Sabres may be slumping right now, but they have an opportunity to trap some giants over their next two matchups.
While it’s true the Buffalo Sabres could crash even further back into the Earth’s atmosphere and drop two straight games to the Vegas Golden Knights and Boston Bruins, arguably the two best teams in hockey at the moment, they could also show that this three-game losing streak is nothing more than a small blemish.
The Golden Knights and Bruins currently have a combined record of 23-4-0 (46 points) while the Sabres are coming off of a loss against the Arizona Coyotes in a game where they spent most of the time missing opportunities. Surely, this doesn’t look good for the Sabres on paper or judging from their recent performances.
But it also provides the team quite an opportunity. The Sabres have shown in the recent past that they can both be an aggressive hockey team and that they can score at will. So when this team is hot, they exceed the usual boiling point and can make life miserable for opponents. And facing the NHL’s best teams in two straight contests will give them that opportunity.
Buffalo Sabres can take advantage of a golden opportunity
While I’m being cautious about what I am predicting against Vegas, I also boldly predicted an Eichel hat trick, but the Sabres would end up winning the game 4-3. Logistically, I predicted a Vegas win, 5-4.
Overall, my projections indicate that the Sabres can win this hockey game against Vegas, and if they do, it will give them hordes of momentum when Boston skates into town. The Bruins, whom many believed would backslide this season given a rash of injuries they suffered before the 2022-23 season even kicked off, are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
And while the Sabres have dropped to a measly seventh in the Atlantic Division standings, an opportunity to defeat Vegas and Boston will officially put the NHL on notice that yes, this is indeed a different Buffalo Sabres team than we have seen in the past.
Even if the Sabres hang in there against the league’s best, such as forcing overtime, it should work wonders for the team’s confidence. Overall, the Sabres and their fans shouldn’t be looking at these next two games with dread or even to get over on a former player, but with an opportunistic mentality to show the league that their team can hang with and defeat anyone in the NHL.
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