The Buffalo Sabres walloped the Detroit Red Wings 8-3 in their first matchup of the year. That can, and should, happen again tonight.
It looks like the Buffalo Sabres will see a familiar foe between the pipes tonight in Alex Nedeljkovic, who they faced during their big win against the Detroit Red Wings on Halloween Night. And while much has changed regarding the Sabres since then, one thing that hasn’t has been Nedeljkovic’s struggles.
So far this season, Nedeljkovic has just an 0.880 save percentage and a 4.01 GAA. And the Sabres, despite dropping their last two games, including one to the Tampa Bay Lightning in heartbreaking fashion, haven’t exactly been slouches at scoring lately, putting up 19 goals over their previous four contests.
Buffalo Sabres can wreak havoc on Detroit tonight
Lately, the Sabres have looked like the young, inexperienced team that they are, going 3-9-1 so far in November while the Red Wings seem to have gotten things together with an 11-6-4 record, good for 26 points. But the Wings are also built to win immediately while the Sabres are taking the more logical extended route for long-term success.
And so far this season, the Blue and Gold have shown flashes. This is a team that has the sixth-lowest points total in the NHL, yet they are tied for 13th in the league with a +2 goal differential, and seventh in the NHL with 81 goals for, good for an average of 3.68 goals per game.
Overall, the Buffalo Sabres have become one of the most formidable goal scoring teams in the NHL. If they can figure out their defensive woes, which will come in time, and find a sound goaltender, this is going to be one scary hockey team.
And it is something they will show tonight against the Red Wings, just as they showed against the Tampa Bay Lightning. If the defense and goaltending can hold, there is no way the Sabres are losing this contest.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
Article Source: Schedule gives Sabres no time to brood after shocking loss to Lightning by Mike Harrington
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