Buffalo Sabres: Bold Predictions for Week 14 (Redemption Week?)
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres struggled last week, dropping three straight games and suffering their first shutout loss of the season. Can they rebound this week?
The Buffalo Sabres suffered through a rough week and added three losses to their already bleak record at home. The obvious upside is that they bounced back with a road win over the Nashville Predators, a good team that found themselves in a similar slump.
And while the Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, and Winnipeg Jets were all on hot streaks, no one anticipated three straight losses, especially that shutout loss to the Flyers. With 44 points, the Sabres have some ground to make up if they want to play in the postseason. Will they make up some of that ground this week? Here are three bold predictions.
1 – Buffalo Sabres enjoy a bounce back week
While it’s farfetched that they will finish the week 4-0, the Blue and Gold will play tough today against Florida and take one from the Blackhawks on the road. I don’t see them beating the Islanders, but they will refuse to play down to the Anaheim Ducks and win that game handedly.
Overall, the Sabres easier schedule and more consistent play this week will allow them five points this week, and you’re going to see a team moving the puck better than they did during their three-game skid.
2 – Tage Thompson ends goal-scoring drought
Tage Thompson hasn’t found the back of the net since January 7th, but look for him to return to his high-octane ways. With opponents keying on him during even strength and the power play last week, Tage only had seven shots on goal during the Buffalo Sabres three game losing streak.
The good news? He also had seven shots on goal during the big win over Nashville. Tage found ways to circumvent the opponents, and you can expect to see the same thing occur this week. He will start scoring goals and a lot of them.
3 – Luukkonen bests Comrie…again…
With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen technically on the Rochester Americans roster to start the week, it looks like Eric Comrie will get another crack at it early in the week. Look for Comrie to struggle, even if he picks up a win for his efforts.
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Comrie didn’t look good in his first game back, and if he strings together a few more subpar performances, he will fall behind Luukkonen in the race to become this team’s clear-cut starting goaltender. Against Nashville, Luukkonen put on a clinic and he warded off a strong charge from Nashville late. And you can look for the young goaltender to build on that performance.
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