Did the Buffalo Sabres do enough to build momentum heading into the All-Star Break?

Following an awful first 11 minutes, the Buffalo Sabres got it together and went on a five-goal run to defeat the San Jose Sharks.

Jan 27, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka (77) celebrates with
Jan 27, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka (77) celebrates with / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Where have these Buffalo Sabres been all season? They go down by two goals twice in as many games, then decide to get hot. Remember when the Blue and Gold found themselves down by a pair of goals, and you just knew they were going to struggle through a blowout loss even as recently as this past Tuesday?

Yeah, that doesn’t appear to be the case on the eve of the All-Star Break, as on Wednesday night, they found themselves down 3-1 against the Los Angeles Kings, and ended up winning 5-3. This afternoon against the Sharks, we saw the same thing happen, but there was no way they would roar back again, or at least we thought. 

Turns out, we were wrong, as JJ Peterka got the scoring going at the 14:14 mark of the first before Jordan Greenway tied it at two with just under a pair of minutes to go in the frame. Then Alex Tuch scored in the second before Peterka added another one early in the third. And finally, Dylan Cozens ended any hopes of a late San Jose comeback, and Buffalo finished January 2024 with a 7-4-0 record.

Buffalo Sabres may have built some momentum for February 2024

Talk about quite a turnaround for a team that was 15-19-4 heading into the New Year. In the Sabres seven wins this month, they outscored opponents 30-10, and while they played some bad hockey teams, they also won all but one game they should have won - the exception being their abysmal performance this past Tuesday. 

But it’s what they needed to build some momentum and confidence heading into what will be a tough first half of February. So yeah, the Buffalo Sabres can parlay their strong January into an equally strong February, when they also play 11 games. And if they finish 7-4-0 again, then they will be in business come March 2024. 

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(Statistics provided by NHL.com)