Buffalo Sabres: Top 3 delightful surprises of the past week

Last week, the Buffalo Sabres were down and out to the point us fans believed we’d only be watching the AHL postseason. But the Blue and Gold surprised us.

The Buffalo Sabres aren’t out of this playoff race yet. If they can get a win over the Florida Panthers on Monday and keep the momentum going, there is a legitimate chance the youngest team in hockey will break through their playoff drought. And if they get there, we may view this past week as the pivotal turning point.

But, it couldn’t have been without three surprising performances from the following players whose play, at one point or another, helped put the Blue and Gold in position to sneak into the WC2. Who are these names? Let’s meet them.

3 delightful surprises for the Buffalo Sabres this past week

1 – Casey Mittelstadt

I’ve been talking about Casey Mittelstadt a lot lately, but he deserves more recognition than anyone else. Subbing at first line center for an injured Tage Thompson, Mittelstadt has played more than admirably, putting up six points over his last three contests, and five over his last two.

Besides his rough start in October 2022, Mittelstadt has strung together a campaign that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Not only does he have 49 points in 75 games, he’s also the only member of the Buffalo Sabres to appear in each contest.

2 – Jordan Greenway

When the Sabres scratched Jordan Greenway because of an injury, I openly wondered whether head coach Don Granato should keep sitting him and Riley Stillman, both of whom arrived before the trade deadline. While I was ecstatic to see Greenway in Buffalo when general manager Kevyn Adams traded for him, he’d been a perennial bust in his first few contests with the team. So at the time, it would’ve made sense to keep him in the press box.

But lately, Greenway’s been a different story. In his first two games back from an upper-body injury, Greenway has found twine twice, including a bizarre one-handed goal in Friday’s win over the New York Rangers. In case you missed this one, you need to see it to believe:

3 – Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Let’s hope that, in the future, I can refer to these two as a 1A and 1B. And if these past two games were an indication, it’s that Levi and Luukkonen have potential to be a dynamic duo in the net.

Starting with Levi, who was the First Star in that win over the Rangers. Having signed with the Buffalo Sabres just two weeks beforehand, head coach Don Granato and Company tasked Levi to make his NHL debut against one of the league’s best teams, and the rookie, prospect really, didn’t flinch, attaining a 0.939 save percentage and 31 saves.

Last night, it was Luukkonen’s turn, and he held his own when the Sabres, again, might I add, looked flat-footed early against the Philadelphia Flyers. And while the Blue and Gold gained control, Luukkonen did more than enough to ensure his team snagged the win, saving 39 shots on goal, with a 0.929 save percentage.

Overall, it was the Sabres best week in quite some time. And one reason for their success is that younger and more obscure players stepped it up. If this continues, Buffalo will, at the absolute least, remain in the wild card race for these last handful of games.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

Source: Sabres thoughts: Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka surging, tricky goalie decision, more by Matthew Fairburn, TheAthletic.com