After a three-game road trip for the Buffalo Sabres coming out of the Olympic break, they were playing their first home game since a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 5th. The night began with plenty of celebrating as Tage Thompson and the Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel were among the players recognized for winning a gold medal for Team USA in the Olympics.
Once that ceremony was over and the game began, it was more of what fans have come to expect from this team as they would win 3-2 over the Golden Knights. The Sabres opened the scoring with Jason Zucker scoring the first goal of the game.
They would add two more goals in the second, and it looked like they were about to cruise to another win. However, the Golden Knights responded with two straight goals to make it a 3-2 game before the end of the period.
It was a competitive game from that point on, as the game remained a one-goal game after a scoreless third period. These are some of the takeaways from their fourth straight win as they go on the road again to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Buffalo Sabres score the first goal of the game for the fifth straight game
The Buffalo Sabres have done a great job of getting the early lead this season, and that was the case once again against the Vegas Golden Knights. It would be Jason Zucker who would get the opening goal after Ryan McLeod tried to pass it across the ice, but it was redirected in front of the net off a Golden Knights player to Zucker, who was able to find the back of the net.
This was now the fifth straight game, dating back to before the Olympic break, that the Sabres have scored the first goal of the game. That opening goal has been a great indicator of how the rest of the game might play out, as they are now 26-4-1 when scoring first and an impressive 14-1-0 at home.
Alex Lyon helps Sabres win another close game
The Sabres' goaltending has quietly been one of the biggest stories for this team this season. On Tuesday, Alex Lyon once again had a big-time performance that helped Buffalo hold onto the lead even as the Golden Knights were playing better down the stretch.
Lyon finished the game, stopping 28 of 30 shots, and according to Natural Stat Trick, had an Expected Goals Against in this game of 3.76 while only allowing the two goals. He is now 13-2 over his last 15 starts, and the combination of him and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gives the Sabres a great goaltending duo they can lean on in the playoffs.
Vegas Golden Knights tested the Sabres but they were able to bounce back
The Buffalo Sabres were able to jump out to a three-goal lead in the second period after goals by Owen Power and Tage Thompson. However, the Golden Knights responded quickly with their first goal about a minute after Thompson's goal.
They wasted no time adding another one as Pavel Dorofeyev would score less than two minutes after their first goal. The Golden Knights continued to put pressure on the Sabres, but the Sabres were able to handle it well and keep the lead.
While it isn't great to see the Sabres give two goals up in quick succession, this was a good test for Buffalo, which just came off a dominant performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are going to need games like this to grow and develop as a team in these tight games because that experience can help once the playoffs roll around.