Top 3 things the Buffalo Sabres must do to keep winning

The Buffalo Sabres snapped their most embarrassing streak of the season last night against the New Jersey Devils. And yes, they can keep winning. 

In last night’s win over the New Jersey Devils, the Buffalo Sabres constructed the foundation for blueprint to get back on track and play respectable hockey for these final 11 games. Though still flawed, Buffalo looked like a completely different hockey team than the one we unfortunately grew accustomed to seeing over the past few weeks, and they ended up stunning one of the league’s most talented groups.

Now that the Sabres got an elusive win under their belts, how did they pull off the feat, and how can they continue to win? Here are three things they must continue doing.

3 ways Buffalo Sabres can keep winning

1 – Show defensive awareness

While allowing four goals doesn’t scream a stellar defensive effort, the Buffalo Sabres showed up defensively nonetheless. At least more than they had lately.

Buffalo got sticks on the puck at the right time and their backchecking negated would-be breakaways and odd-man rushes. They often took away the slot, and best yet, they pressured the Devils into making errant decisions.

No, allowing four goals doesn’t often translate to successful defensive play. But the Sabres also gave up an average of six goals per contest over their previous four games. And one major reason they didn’t allow another six came from an improved defensive effort.

2 – Keeping taking shots on net

The Sabres scored three goals in the first period and just two the rest of the way. One reason is that they had 12 shots on net in the first frame, and just 14 in the second and third combined.

Buffalo plays its best hockey offensively when they display reckless abandon offensively. They showed it in the first period, taking the available shot on net multiple times, and it led to a goaltender switch.

When this team hesitates or tries to rush things and passes the puck as opposed to taking the shot that’s given to them, they become mistake-prone, and that’s when opponents take advantage. To negate this, the Sabres need to take shots when available and play without trying to do too much with the puck.

3 – Put forth a 60-minute effort

This is something we saw a better example of last night, even if the Buffalo Sabres regressed in the third period. But once again, the 40 to 50 minute effort was far better than what we’ve seen in previous matchups.

With a challenging slate of games remaining on the schedule and a handful of games left, the Blue and Gold must take advantage of every second of every game given to them. And that means playing for 60 minutes game in and game out. If they do that, Buffalo will win at least a few of these remaining 11 games.