Not at full strength? No problem tonight for the Buffalo Sabres
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres have struggled all season when things go awry. Without Jeff Skinner and a pair of defensemen, it didn’t matter tonight.
The Buffalo Sabres were so bland in the first two periods that I found myself more interested watching passing cars in my gym parking lot over the game’s first 40 minutes. It was one of a few times this season where the team just couldn’t hold my attention.
So with the second intermission underway, I took the five minute ride home and turned the game back on just as they were heading into the third period. Then came the onslaught of a six-goal period. The Sabres SECOND six-goal period in the past seven days, with the first coming last Wednesday against Columbus.
As I’ve said in the past – This is a good hockey team. I don’t care if they are 13-14-2, and in seventh place in the Atlantic. Bad hockey teams don’t score six goals in a single period twice in a one-week span. They also shut out the Los Angeles Kings, a team that is currently third in the Pacific Division.
Shorthanded Buffalo Sabres got it done against Los Angeles
Remember, this time last month, the Buffalo Sabres were without the likes of Henri Jokiharju and Mattias Samuelsson. At times, half their six primary defensemen were missing time with injuries. And it was rough, given their eight-game losing streak that they still haven’t quite recovered from.
Tonight, the Sabres were without Jokiharju, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Jeff Skinner. But when the third period came along, it no longer mattered. The Blue and Gold got hot. They used their speed, something they seemed to be lacking early in the game. As I said, they had me so disinterested earlier in the evening I found more entertainment in watching passing cars silhouetted against the shadow of the night.
But after Tage Thompson’s faceoff goal with Dylan Cozens on the helper, boy did things get going. And I’ll tell you what – I probably won’t even sleep tonight, they had me so hyped up after that third period, blowing out a superior team with three of their regular starters out.
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Kudos to the Buffalo Sabres tonight and a MAJOR KUDOS to Craig Anderson! The 41-year-old saved all 40 shots on goal to post his first shutout in quite some time. Now, let’s see if the Blue and Gold keep up this momentum as they travel west.
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