Buffalo Sabres prove they are capable of playing sound hockey
By Sion Fawkes
Just 48 hours ago, the Buffalo Sabres were toiling through an eight-game losing streak. In the past 24 hours, they have outscored opponents 13-4.
The Buffalo Sabres have been nothing short of awesome over the past two contests. In two straight games, they ended two streaks – their own losing streak, and tonight, they ended the St. Louis Blues winning streak.
Also in two straight games, they scored a goal in the first minute of play, and 13 total, looking like a completely different team than whatever they were during their eight-game skid. And best yet, this group proved they are more than capable of playing 60 minutes of solid hockey, so why can’t they do this all the time? Why do they suffer through long losing streaks?
The Buffalo Sabres just need some consistency
I will go on record right now and predict the Sabres will have some more ugly moments this season, so kindly expect them. But I’m also going to predict that there will be nights like those we’ve seen this week, where they will just blow teams out and play like Stanley Cup contenders (even if they are a few years from actually contending for a Cup).
That said, this team’s next mission is simple: Learn how to win consistently. Not that when they do become serious contenders that they won’t have a bad game or even a bad stretch or two. But they need to take what worked these last two games, apply them every time they step onto the ice, execute, and you will see more consistency.
But what has worked these last two games? For one, they exercised patience when in the offensive zone as opposed to taking random shots. That patience has allowed them to crash the net more often, which naturally turns into more goals, or at least better scoring chances.
They also scored four times on their last seven power play attempts, and patience is helping in that regard too. We’re seeing fewer broken plays in the offensive zone, and much better puck handling.
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When the Sabres learn to exercise all of the above consistently, along with positioning themselves better when in the defensive zone, only then will they start winning consistently. Expect more troughs, they will happen to young teams. But you can also expect higher and longer waves.
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