Buffalo Sabres: Top 5 most exciting wins on the road in 2022-23
The Buffalo Sabres were one of the best road teams in the NHL in 2022-23, but which of their 25 wins ranks as the most exciting?
The Buffalo Sabres finished the 2022-23 season 25-13-3 on the road, good for 53 points and a near-franchise record. Because of their success inside opposing arenas, the Blue and Gold had more than their fair share of epic wins, and to list just five of them was a challenge in and of itself.
But those listed below were a mixture of exciting W’s that held major significance to their season. Therefore a few games that just missed the cut, though memorable, didn’t hold the same meaning. Their October 18th outing in Edmonton was one to remember, but the implications just weren’t there.
The same goes for their 9-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, and even their thrilling overtime win in Dallas. So which games made the cut? Keep reading to find out.
Buffalo Sabres top 5 road wins of 2022-23
5 – Sabres avenge controversial loss in shutout fashion
The epic at the New York Islanders is the first one up on the list, and it was a game when goaltender Eric Comrie had one of the best in his career. Comrie saved all 26 shots on goal and posted his only shutout of the season in a game that was a defensive struggle for the first 53-and-a-half minutes before Kyle Okposo broke the stalemate to give the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead.
The Isles failed to respond, and Jeff Skinner sunk the empty-netter to give Buffalo the win. This was just the Sabres second road win in what was a tumultuous month.
4 – Sabres end their losing streak in dominating fashion
November 2022 was the Sabres worst month last season, and they finished with a 4-9-1 record, losing eight straight games in the process. But that streak ended in a road affair vs. their Atlantic Division rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
Buffalo needed just two minutes and 13 seconds to tack on three goals, and while Montreal made it interesting by the end of the second period, the Sabres scored another trio in the third to put the game out of reach. Even more impressive was the fact six different members of the Blue and Gold scored in this 7-2 win.
3 – Sabres score their most emotional win of the season
The Buffalo Sabres entered this one with heavy hearts given Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s tragic collapse just one day before during a Monday Night Football game. And the game was nothing short of epic, with the Sabres and Washington Capitals going back and forth before the latter took a 4-3 lead in the third period.
But Tyson Jost scored at the 11:42 mark, tying the game and subsequently forcing an overtime. Tage Thompson would score his third goal of the night at exactly the three-minute mark of the extra frame, sending the Blue and Gold home victorious.
2 – Sabres fend off Lightning in the most improbable manner
The Buffalo Sabres had it tough against the Tampa Bay Lightning in recent history, and the previous time the two teams met, the Blue and Gold lost a heartbreaker. And this time around, it looked as though history were about to repeat itself, as the Sabres blew a 5-3 lead with five minutes remaining in the third period.
To make matters worse, Henri Jokiharju put the Sabres shorthanded going into the extra frame thanks to a delay of game call at the 19:52 mark. But despite all the momentum in Tampa’s corner, Ilya Lyubushkin said, “Not so fast,” and he ended up scoring on a breakaway to give Buffalo an unprecedented win.
1 – Sabres sweep Red Wings in a thriller
It was Adams Plan vs. Yzer Plan Part IV on the season, and the Buffalo Sabres were going for the season sweep over the Detroit Red Wings. And it soon became clear the Wings weren’t going down without a fight, taking a 2-1 lead before Buffalo scored a pair of goals to go into the intermission up 3-2.
The Sabres took a two-goal lead in the second frame, but the Red Wings roared back on a power play goal in which Rasmus Dahlin temporarily forgot he was playing defense. And just 48 seconds later, Owen Power found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the puck ricocheting off his leg and into the net.
In the third period, the Sabres took another two-goal lead, but as had been a theme all season, they let it slip away, and the two teams headed into overtime tied at six. After the extra frame, it looked as though the Red Wings were about to take a huge advantage following a successful goal, but Jack Quinn answered.
Related Story. Sabres: Zach’s Top 10 wins from the 2022-23 season. light
After Alex Tuch scored and goaltender Devon Levi denied Dylan Larkin, the Buffalo Sabres survived a scare and kept their slim playoff hopes alive. Although Buffalo lost a few days later in New Jersey, this thriller, plus two subsequent contests against Carolina and the New York Rangers kept fans tuning in.
(Statistics and historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)