The Buffalo Sabres were coming off their worst game of the year and they were playing arguably the NHL’s best team…and won!
Wow, what an upset for the foreseeable ages, as the Buffalo Sabres went into Madison Square Garden following a horrendous outing two nights ago and crushed a team that had an 8-1-1 record in November. That’s a hard script for anyone to write, and the Blue and Gold looked like a team on a mission from the first period and onward.
They pressured the New York Rangers relentlessly in that first frame and throughout most of the final 40 minutes, frustrating a team that had just one regulation loss at home. It got so tough for the Rangers that the hometown crowd let them hear it, giving the Sabres momentum that they refused to relinquish.
Zach Benson was one of the most tenacious players on the ice tonight, constantly making the right passes (often to JJ Peterka), creating turnovers, and fighting to dig the puck free on several occasions. He also set himself up on a remarkable one-timer opportunity early in the contest, and nearly scored another near the crease later on.
Buffalo Sabres youngsters come through in major upset win over the Rangers
But how about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who at the time of this writing, tallied 22 saves on 22 shots at even strength, and finished 25 for 26, good for a ridiculous 0,962 save percentage? Luukkonen has been playing on another level this year, but in the third period, he made a save that rivaled what we used to see from Dominik Hasek. If you didn’t check it out yet, take a look.
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN, OH MY, WHAT A SAVE! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OdvEnGXBMI
— NHL (@NHL) November 28, 2023
Yeah, Luukkonen has really started coming into his own, and you have to credit the Buffalo Sabres for giving him a chance when many of us had written him off. But Benson and Luukkonen weren’t the only two impressive players tonight, as Alex Tuch put up two goals, and Casey Mittelstadt led the charge with three points.
Now, the Sabres have two days off before their final game of November against the St. Louis Blues. If they win or snag an overtime loss, they will have clinched an over 0.500 record for the month, and tonight’s win just guaranteed at least 0.500 for November.
(Statistics provided by NHL.com)