(WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres weren’t at their best out West, but it was good enough to come home with two wins in three games.
Buffalo, somewhat, struggled on Saturday night for the first 40 minutes of play, but were still tied at 2-2 against the San Jose Sharks.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had his worst game of the season coming out of the bye week, giving up seven goals to the Calgary Flames. I didn’t think it was a good idea at all for him to sit on that game for a week, but that’s why I’m not a coach in the National Hockey League, because he made 25 saves in those two periods to keep Buffalo in the game.
The Sabres got a gift from Sharks goalie Kappo Kahkonen early, as Dylan Cozens went from behind his own net, up the right wing side and fired an off-angle shot from the wall that went between Kahkonen’s pads.
That gives Cozens a 20-goal season for the first time in his career.
A deflection shot beat Luukkonen to tie it at 1-1, but Jeff Skinner helped give Buffalo a 2-1 lead in the second period.
Skinner feathered a perfect pass to Owen Power coming down the slot, and the rookie defenseman made it 2-1 in the second period. That gives Power four goals in nine games after not scoring any this season before that.
Alexander Barabanov tied the game again at 2-2 when he got a lucky bounce off the back wall.
The Sabres got their legs and their game going in the third period.
Erik Karlsson has been a great offensive player in his career, including this season, but his defense has never been good, and it was horrendous in this game. Buffalo pressured him into numerous turnovers, including three in about a 10-second span.
At 1:23 of the period, Peyton Krebs got a penalty shot after being pulled down on a breakaway, but he tried to go between the pads and Kahkonen made an easy save.
That didn’t deter Buffalo, and they kept applying the pressure on the forecheck, getting good offensive zone time.
Skinner was able to break out of his slump that had seen him score just three goals since New Year's Day to take the lead for good. Credit Tage Thompson for some great work behind the net to feed his winger for the goal.
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Buffalo was also good defensively in the period, as Henri Jokiharju did a terrific job of breaking up a 2-on-1 rush. At the other end, JJ Peterka had a 2-on-0, but Kahkonen made a big save to keep his team in it.
Rasmus Dahlin was deep in his own zone and launched a perfect pass up to center ice, putting Alex Tuch in alone on the empty net, and Buffalo sealed the win.
The Sabres have been amazing on the road for some time now, especially against the Western Conference, where they finished up 12-2-2. The only two regulation losses came in Los Angeles and Seattle, while overtime losses came against Chicago and Minnesota.
Overall, the Sabres have posted a 17-8-2 road record this season.
Buffalo outshot the Sharks, 18-8, in the third period. Luukkonen made 33 saves to break a personal three-game losing streak. The 23-year-old was, of course, the star of the game, but officially, he only got the second star of the game.
Kale Clague was on the ice for both San Jose goals and struggled. He only played one shift in the third period and 7:13 overall.
All the teams around the Sabres in the playoff race lost their games on Saturday, so Buffalo was able to pick up ground on every team.
The Sabres now have two days to figure out how to win at home, where they’ve lost 16-of-27 games. In their last two home games, they’ve lost by a combined score of 12-3.
Ryan O’Reilly will return to Buffalo on Tuesday for the first time as part of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are in Chicago on Sunday and will be at the end of three games in four nights.
