Despite loss, Buffalo Sabres still set new milestones in 2023
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres lost to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, but they still saw a couple of players set single-season milestones.
The Buffalo Sabres lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers and while it was encouraging to see Devon Levi once again look stellar in his road debut, the Blue and Gold played far worse offensively than you think, despite their 40 shots on goal. They were stuck in the defensive zone for what felt like an eternity during the second frame, and at one point, failed to record a shot on goal for eight straight minutes.
But that doesn’t mean a couple of good things didn’t happen last night. One involved Tage Thompson, who hit the 90-point mark, the first Sabre to cross the threshold since Daniel Briere (95 points) in 2006-07.
Rasmus Dahlin also recorded his 54th assist of the year, putting him just six behind Phil Housley’s franchise record in 1989-90, when he scored 60. The assist also tied him with John Van Boxmeer, who scored 54 during the 1981-82 season.
Both milestones occurred on Dylan Cozens’ 29th goal of the year, putting Buffalo just one away from having four 30-goal scorers this season for the first time since 2006-07.
Buffalo Sabres still hitting milestones despite loss
Sure, a win would have been ideal, but these latest milestones show us yet another example regarding just how far the Sabres have come this year. No, the season doesn’t look like it will end the way we hoped with a playoff berth, but amidst a “developmental year,” hitting such milestones are accomplishments in and of themselves.
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With six games remaining, however, as opposed to four for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, and the Panthers, Buffalo still has an outside chance. Ideally, they’ll set another milestone or two while they do just enough to make, and their competition falters just enough to miss, the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff.
Source: Observations: Sabres unable to mount comeback in their biggest game in a decade by Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)