Buffalo Sabres need to make a statement Saturday night in Toronto
By Sion Fawkes
Buffalo Sabres suffer a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers after an awful first period set the tone for the game’s final 40 minutes.
It appears the Goatheads will beat any one of the NHL’s other 31 teams, or at least tie them in regulation, except against the Philadelphia Flyers. Since the Buffalo Sabres started rolling with the Goatheads as the alternate jersey, they have lost just two games in regulation, both of which have come vs. Philadelphia in what has been a combined score of 9-1.
But this wasn’t the only game that Buffalo looked bad in this week, as they came off of a pedestrian performance offensively despite putting up five goals just two days ago against Philadelphia. So once again it poses the question: Who is this team?
On Sunday, the Black and Red looked like they were turning a corner, shutting out the Colorado Avalanche of all teams before they played a bad game on Wednesday, but won big. Then tonight, you know what happened: A poor opening 20 minutes turned into a poor overall performance.
Buffalo Sabres need to make a statement against their biggest rival tomorrow
What’s the positive takeaway here? The Sabres can face and win big over a rival, their biggest rival, in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Things always get chippy between the Sabres and Leafs, so following tonight’s game, we should see Buffalo traveling north of the border with a sense of urgency, and to prove they are way better than they played tonight.
In the previous two games, the Black and Red have just 37 shots on goal, and they rarely seemed to get anything going toward the net except for a few brief moments in the second period, when they logged 12 shots. Do the math, and nearly one-third of those 37 came in tonight’s second frame.
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Overall, you’re going to see bad performances like this occur throughout an 82-game season, but the vibe will be totally different tomorrow night if the Buffalo Sabres can skate into Toronto, set the tone early, and come home with a convincing W. They have the talent, no doubt, as they have already proven this season, so let’s see if they can bounce back against their biggest rival.
(Information provided by NHL.com)