3 things the Buffalo Sabres must do to keep winning in final 25 games
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres were down and out in February, only to shock the league and pull off back-to-back upsets against the Florida teams.
The Buffalo Sabres looked like a different hockey team following a big win on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they followed it up with a victory over the Florida Panthers. Despite being the youngest team in the league, the Sabres now find themselves clinging to a wild card spot with 25 games left in the regular season, something that hasn’t happened in quite a while.
So now the new challenge looms: How do they hold onto that spot? There are three aspects of their game that must continue. Let’s explore them.
1 – Stay physical
Over their past two contests, the Buffalo Sabres landed 66 hits, finishing 42 checks against the Lightning, and 24 vs. the Panthers. For ages, the Blue and Gold let opponents outmuscle them, and it led to other teams to practically gash them up the middle and win battles for the puck along the boards.
Frankly, opponents never thought twice about driving the puck up a lane or setting themselves up in front of the net to take a pass or a deflection. Why would they? No one was going to come in and lay a body check.
When Buffalo showed more physicality over the previous two evenings, they won a few more puck battles. Tampa and Florida couldn’t slice through them with ease, and the Sabres played better along the boards.
2 – Keep the sense of urgency high
This should be a fixture in all games, but for a group like the Buffalo Sabres who are fighting for a playoff spot with about a half-dozen teams in the East, that sense of urgency needs to be even greater. Until last night’s win, the Sabres often had one period where they just looked terrible, allowing three to four goals in that 20-minute frame.
They avoided disaster against the Lightning. And other than that third period meltdown on Thursday night, Buffalo looked as though they were playing playoff hockey against the Florida teams. If they want to keep their stronghold on the wild card, every game from here on out is a playoff game.
The postseason started 25 games early for the Blue and Gold. And they need to embrace that mentality every single evening (or afternoon) that they take the ice.
3 – Keep thriving on special teams
The Buffalo Sabres have seen stretches where they faltered on the power play and gave up too many goals on the penalty kill. But over the past two games, it’s been a different story. They killed off five of their last six penalties (with one ending in a game-winning shorthanded goal), for an 83.3% rate. Buffalo also converted two of their past five power plays (40% conversion).
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Sure, it’s an ultra-small sample size to go on, but it’s a major step in the right direction that couldn’t have come at a better time of the year. Buffalo needs to keep giving opponents headaches when they’re on the PK, and they also need to keep finding creative ways to convert power play opportunities.
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