The Buffalo Sabres were hoping to at least tie franchise history with a win against the Dallas Stars as a win on Wednesday night would be their 10th straight win, something that has been accomplished three other times. This year's team now joins those other teams as they would win 4-1 over the Stars.
It was an impressive performance across the board, as it started out pretty ugly, with the Stars scoring in the first 15 seconds. However, after that, it was all Buffalo as they would score four straight times with goals by Josh Doan, Bo Byram, and then two by Tage Thompson in the third to put the game out of reach.
These are some of the takeaways from the win over the Dallas Stars as they keep their win streak alive with the 10th straight win.
Buffalo Sabres recover from big mistake early in the game
In arguably their toughest game of this win streak, the Sabres started about as badly as a team could. It took only 15 seconds for Mavrik Bourque to beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the first goal of the game.
The Sabres made a few big mistakes that helped Bourque to get the scoring started, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Rasmus Dahlin had some miscommunication behind the net and couldn't clear it. Bourque controlled the puck and got a shot on net, and Dahlin seemingly wasn't prepared for the rebound and couldn't clear it.
In past seasons, this type of start would have essentially been the end of the game for the Sabres as they would be unable to recover, especially on the road against a really good Dallas Stars' team.
That wasn't the case in this game as the Sabres continued to try and play their game and controlled the flow from almost that point on for the remainder of the game. It was an impressive show of resiliency against a good team and is another sign that this Sabres team might be a legitimate playoff contender.
Dallas Stars struggled with the Buffalo Sabres forecheck
One of the big storylines from this game was the Buffalo Sabres' forecheck, as it was one of the big deciding factors in the outcome. The Buffalo Sabres after the Stars' first goal, were able to limit the Stars' chances while creating their own because of the forecheck.
In this game, the Sabres finished with 34 scoring chances and 16 high-danger chances to only 23 scoring chances and 12 high-danger chances for the Stars, according to Natural Stat Trick. If the Sabres can forecheck like this consistently, they are going to be a very tough team to beat.
Tage Thompson made plays all over the ice for the Sabres
There is no question that Tage Thompson is known for having one of the hardest shots in the league, but against the Dallas Stars, he showed a lot more than that. It seemed like every time the Sabres needed a play, it was Thompson who was a part of it.
In the second period, Thompson did a great job controlling the puck down low and moving around until Josh Doan came free and was able to score for the Sabres to tie the game at one. He also made a defensive play later in the period where he broke up a crossing path and cleared the puck.
Then in the third period, Thompson showed off the scoring touch as he was able to clean up a rebound right in front of the net to give Buffalo a 3-1 lead. He wasn't done there as a little over two minutes later, he showed off that incredible shot that Casey DeSmith had no chance of stopping and gave the Sabres a three goal lead.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen showing he can win on the road when the Sabres need him most
For most of the season, Alex Lyon has been the Sabres' top goalie, but he suffered an injury late against the Blues that forced him to return to Buffalo. That meant that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was going to be stepping in as the starter against one of the best goal-scoring teams in the NHL, the Dallas Stars.
That first goal made it feel like it was going to be a long night for Luukkonen, but he would settle down and have an excellent night in net. He finished the game stopping 28 of 29 shots, and has now won his second straight road game.
That last point is important because Luukkonen has not been great away from KeyBank Center. Entering the game on Wednesday, he was 1-4-1 in six starts with a save percentage of .866 and a goals against average of 3.43.
There is never a great time to lose your top goaltender, but it is especially tough when you are going for your 10th straight win. Luukkonen stepped up and delivered the type of performance that should give the coaching staff more confidence in him moving forward.
Buffalo Sabres penalty kill has a statement game against one of the top power play units
For most of the season, the Buffalo Sabres have had one of the best penalty kill units in the league and entering this game were third in the league in penalty kill percentage at 84.8%.
However, they were facing a tough challenge against a Stars' power play that is also one of the best in the league, as they rank second in power play percentage at 30.6% and power play goals with 37.
At least for this game, the Sabres won the matchup, and it wasn't even really close, as the Stars were unable to capitalize on either of their power play opportunities. In fact, they didn't even really have great chances with only one shot on goal across both power play chances.
It was a collective team effort and probably the Sabres best performance all season as they will now turn their focus to owning the franchise record for most consecutive wins outright if they can win on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.