Buffalo Sabres: Zach’s Top 10 wins from the 2022-23 season
Looking back at the Buffalo Sabres 2022-23 season, they had a lot of awesome wins.Here are their top 10 victories from what was a memorable year.
The Buffalo Sabres had one of their best seasons in awhile. They had 42 wins this past season and there were some dramatic wins that really stood out. So I thought it would be a cool idea and take a trip down memory lane, aka games from this year.
In this article, I am going to give you my top ten wins from the 2022-23 regular season. I based it on excitement level, implications, etc. Picking the games was the easy part, ranking them was the hard part. Without further ado, let’s dive into my top ten wins from the season.
10. Sabres score big in Columbus
Number 10 on the countdown was a fun game for every Sabres fan. Back in December, Buffalo took on the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a 9-4 Sabres win, Tage Thompson had one of the best games we have ever seen. He scored five goals, getting a hat trick in the first period.
At the end of the first period, the score was 6-0 Buffalo. It was an epic win and showed the world how good of a player Tage Thompson is.
9. Return of the Goatheads
The debut of the Goatheads is probably on a lot of Buffalo Sabres fans list. For the longest time, Blue and Gold fans have been asking the team to bring back the classic black Goathead jerseys. In the offseason, the team came in clutch and would bring them back as their alternate jerseys.
They would debut them against the St. Louis Blues and 18 seconds into the game, Jeff Skinner would open the scoring. Buffalo would go on to win the game 6-2 in the return of the Goatheads.
8. The epic on Ryan Miller Night
My next favorite Sabres win comes on Ryan Miller Night back in January. Buffalo was hosting the New York Islanders on a very special night. Not only were they inducting former goalie Ryan Miller in the teams Hall of Fame, but they were also retiring his Number 30 into the rafters.
It was ironic that both goaltenders put on a show, but the Sabres were able to win the game thanks to a beautiful loft pass from Rasmus Dahlin to Dylan Cozens who scored the game winning goal 12 seconds into overtime. To top it off, the team brought Ryan onto the ice to celebrate.
7. Buffalo Sabres spook Red Wings
My seventh favorite Sabres win came on Halloween night against the Detroit Red Wings. Buffalo would win the game 8-3 and the win would also feature another Tage Thompson hat trick. Getting a hat trick is cool enough but it’s how he scored it that was jaw dropping. Rasmus Dahlin’s reaction says it all.
6. Sabres exorcise a Bruin-sized demon
Coming in at six, Buffalo exercised a demon. The Sabres beat a lot of good teams this season. Vegas, Colorado, Dallas, New Jersey, just to name a few. However, no bigger win against an elite team came on New Years Eve. To close out the year of 2022, Buffalo had an afternoon matinee against the Boston Bruins.
Trailing 3-2 with just about two minutes left in the third, Buffalo would tie the game up thanks to Dylan Cozens. Alex Tuch would win the game for the Sabres thanks to an amazing pass from Cozens. This game was big for me because Boston has always had Buffalo’s number. Even though the Bruins blew out the Sabres in their other meetings, it felt good to beat Boston for once.
5. Devon Levi’s debut
We are halfway through the countdown! Number Five of my favorite Sabres wins was Devon Levi’s debut against the New York Rangers to close out the month of March. After blowing a 2-0 lead, the Sabres and Rangers would need overtime.
Jeff Skinner would score the game winning goal and pointed right to Levi after he scored because of how awesome Levi played in his first NHL game. When Levi signed with Buffalo, fans rejoiced and did very well against a very good team in his debut.
4. Sabres stay alive vs. the ‘Canes
Another team the Sabres have had a hard time against, the Carolina Hurricanes. Just like the Bruins, the Hurricanes had Buffalo’s number. In the second period, Buffalo was trailing until Casey Mittelstadt was on the receiving end from an incredible pass from Rasmus Dahlin to tie the game up 3-3.
Tage Thompson would score what would be the game winning goal early on in the third period and the Buffalo Sabres would FINALLY beat the Hurricanes to keep their playoff hopes alive.
3. Sabres unlikely hero against Tampa
We are in the top three! Number Three was yet another thrilling overtime win. The Tampa Bay Lightning are hard to beat in general, but as for Buffalo, it’s been awhile since they beat Tampa in Tampa. Despite having two, two goal leads, both teams would need more than 60 minutes to determine a winner.
An unlikely hero would score the game winning goal as Ilya Lyubushkin would give Buffalo the 6-5 winner shorthanded nonetheless. It was a very thrilling win.
2. Craig Anderson’s emotional sendoff
Win Number Two was an emotional one. Not only was it the Buffalo Sabres last home game of the season, but it was also Craig Anderson’s final game of his career. Casey Mittelstadt would score the game winning goal as the team mobbed Anderson with hugs.
The ending was very cool as the Ottawa Senators, the team that Anderson played for most of his career, would shake his hand and the crowd would give him one big standing ovation as his family would watch on the ice.
1. Buffalo Sabres WILD night against the Wild
We have finally made it! My favorite Sabres win came against the Minnesota Wild. Trailing 5-4 late in the game, Rasmus Dahlin would tie the game up 5-5 in the dying minutes. With under 30 seconds to go in overtime, Victor Olofsson would score the game-winning goal.
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This was my favorite game because of the crowd noise and how the game ended. It was fun watching on TV, I can’t imagine how much fun it was inside the building.