The Buffalo Sabres took the New York Rangers into overtime, but they couldn’t get it done in a 2-1 loss, despite showing immense improvements.
Well, the Buffalo Sabres didn’t look as though they forgot to play defense as was the case on Thursday night, and they definitely looked alive for the entire contest, unlike on Tuesday night. And while the Pittsburgh Penguins win over the Philadelphia Flyers earlier today cut yet another thread from the Blue and Gold’s diminishing playoff hopes, the Sabres still walked away with a point, and at least a solid performance, contrary to what we saw in the past two contests.
And they had plenty of good looks all night, snagging 33 shots on goal. Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, much like Stuart Skinner on Monday night, just had one remarkable evening. Several times, Buffalo looked to be in place to take a late lead, especially during their second power play. But Shesterkin was on point, earning First Star honors in the process.
Buffalo Sabres come close, but couldn’t get it done in OT
You can’t necessarily say it was mission accomplished. Instead, it was one left half-finished. But there should at least be a small sigh of relief here. Buffalo played a tough hockey team in the New York Rangers, and following their debacle against Dallas, few in Sabres circles gave this team even the slightest chance of hanging with New York.
It wasn’t the result that we wanted, but for the team, this should have been an encouraging performance. They played better defensively, took away a lot of would-be scoring opportunities, and they allowed goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to bring home a strong performance.
Overall, it’s disappointing to see yet another loss from our Buffalo Sabres. But at least they showed us, for a night, anyway, that they can still hang with one of the NHL’s better teams late in the season. It was yet another home loss, but with a road trip coming up, perhaps perhaps this game will give Buffalo something to build on.
Even if the playoffs look all but lost at this point, this team still has a chance to finish strong. And they will have a chance to against their biggest rival. So now, we’re onto Toronto.