How the Buffalo Sabres fared against the Oilers in 2022-23
How did the Buffalo Sabres fare in their two-game series against the Edmonton Oilers in 2022-23? Here is a deeper dive into both contests.
It’s no secret how good the Edmonton Oilers are. After being in the basement of the NHL for the longest time, they have become a Stanley Cup contender each season. While they haven’t won the Stanley Cup in a very long time, you always have to watch out for players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
So how did the Buffalo Sabres fare against the Oilers? The first of two meetings took place in Edmonton early on in the season. Each team was playing their third game of the year as Buffalo was beginning their Western Canada road trip.
Four minutes into the game, Rasmus Dahlin gave Buffalo the 1-0 lead. 23 seconds later however, Darnell Nurse tied the game and the score would remain the same after the first period. In the second period, it was all Buffalo.
Tage Thompson scored his first goal of the season and Jack Quinn would make it 3-1 just a few minutes later. With less than two minutes remaining in the third period, the Oilers made it 3-2 thanks to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Despite a late goal, Alex Tuch sealed the deal and made it 4-2 Sabres.
It was a good win for Buffalo against a very good Edmonton team and the Sabres ended up winning three of their four games on the road trip. The second and final meeting took place in Buffalo during the month of March.
Buffalo Sabres split with the Edmonton Oilers in 2022-23
Sadly for the Sabres, this game was in the middle of a slump for the team. After losing three games in a row, Buffalo tried to end this losing streak against a tough team in the Oilers. You can’t keep McDavid down forever and he opened the scoring to give Edmonton the lead.
Just a couple of minutes later, Jeff Skinner responded and tied the game up. The score remained the same after the first period but after Derek Ryan scored in the second period, the Sabres would be losing 2-1 heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
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Just 41 seconds into the third, Dylan Cozens made it 2-2. Unfortunately, it would not last long as McDavid scored what would be the game winning goal. It was a frustrating loss for the Sabres and they went on to lose three more games after their meeting with the Oilers.
(Historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)