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Outstanding play defined the Buffalo Sabres at 2023 IIHF Worlds

By Sion Fawkes |
TAMPERE, FINLAND - MAY 28: Lawson Crouse of Canada (C) celebrated by Cody Glass of Canada (L) and Peyton Krebs of Canada (R) for his goal during the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Finland - Latvia game between Canada and Germany at Nokia Arena on May 28, 2023 in Tampere, Finland. (Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
TAMPERE, FINLAND - MAY 28: Lawson Crouse of Canada (C) celebrated by Cody Glass of Canada (L) and Peyton Krebs of Canada (R) for his goal during the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Finland - Latvia game between Canada and Germany at Nokia Arena on May 28, 2023 in Tampere, Finland. (Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Fans of the Buffalo Sabres saw tremendous output from their favorite players at the 2023 IIHF World Championship over the past two weeks.

Four of the five members of the Buffalo Sabres received medals this past weekend as the 2023 IIHF World Championship came to a close, and they all played for at least a bronze. Alex Tuch of Team USA was the only one of the five Sabres who didn’t earn a piece of hardware, given his team’s historic loss to Team Latvia, but he was one of the group’s more productive performers with eight points, five goals, and three assists in 10 contests, finishing tied for fourth on the team.

Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs played sound supporting roles in helping Team Canada win the gold yesterday, but they were productive all tournament, with one of Quinn’s shootout goals allowing Canada to advance earlier in the week. Overall, Quinn scored seven points, two goals, and five assists while Krebs tacked on five, with one goal and four helpers.

Devon Levi only saw in-game action once, but he finished with 22 saves on 24 shots on goal, and a 0.916 save percentage. While it would have been ideal to see Levi play more often, he nonetheless put up on effective performance in his lone start.

Buffalo Sabres players shined at 2023 IIHF Worlds

J.J. Peterka had the best performance of the bunch, and he did everything except walk away with a gold medal. Only Rocco Grimaldi of Team USA scored more points than Peterka’s 12 (six goals, six assists), and it should come as no surprise that Peterka also received First-Team All-Star and top forward honors.

Overall, it was a successful tournament for all five Buffalo Sabres choosing to take part in it. For Peterka, it could signal a breakout season is on the way, as I’m sure many fans experienced flashbacks to Dylan Cozens’ legendary performance at the 2022 event that led to his own breakout campaign.

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And we won’t need to wait long to see that happen, as believe it or not, training camp’s less than four months away. We are getting there.

Source: Krebs, Quinn and Levi take home Gold as Team Canada beats Germany by Paul Hamilton, Audacy.com

(Statistics provided by IIHF.com)

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