(WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres won their third-straight game on Thursday night, and fourth game in five attempts, with a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
However, that wasn’t the big story on the night.
As the game neared the halfway point of the third period and with the Sabres leading 3-2, 2021 No. 1 overall pick Owen Power jumped into a big opening and took a pass from Jeff Skinner - who was down on one knee - to score his first NHL goal.
Skinner was so happy for the 19-year-old, he jumped up to his skates and got the puck for the rookie defenseman. Power scored his first goal in the NHL, against the Devils, in just his fifth NHL game.
Power was, once again, all over the ice, playing 22:21 of ice-time. Along with forward Tage Thompson, he was on the ice for four of Buffalo’s five goals.
The ice was horrible in New Jersey on Thursday, which led to this becoming a sloppy game. That’s why Craig Anderson got first star honors, because both teams were turning the bouncing puck over and the 40-year-old goalie had to make numerous big saves.
The Devils came into the game 0-for-25 on the power play, and had given up 11 shorthanded goals on the season. You could tell they had no confidence with the man advantage, and the Sabres scored two shorthanded goals in 47 seconds to take a 2-0. Kyle Okposo flipped a puck from outside the blue line that goalie Andrew Hammond whiffed on. Then, Alex Tuch converted a Victor Olofsson rebound for the second shorty.
A few weeks ago in Chicago, Thompson shattered his stick on a one-timer that still went in for a game-winning goal. On Thursday, Olofsson made a nice cross-ice pass in the right circle to Rasmus Dahlin, who snapped his stick in half on the one-timer. The shot hit Devils forward Dawson Mercer in the leg and into the net for a 3-0 Sabres lead.
The panic in the Sabres' game when things went wrong has been gone for about two months now. When a 3-0 lead became 3-2, they just worked harder and played even better to put the game away.
It was eventually Skinner streaking to the net, taking a pass from Thompson to put the game away late in the third.
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The Sabres had other great opportunities in this game, but they hit some posts and didn’t get the chance to shoot on open nets, because the puck was bouncing and they couldn’t get the puck to sit down.
Olofsson had three assists in the game, giving him six assists in five games. He also had two goals in those games.
The Sabres winger has improved his game immensely in the past two months, as it's not only goals he’s scoring. Olofsson has been better in the offensive zone, on the forecheck, and being patient with the puck.
The off-ice officials had a real hard time with the official score sheet on Thursday. They had the Devils 0-for-4 on the power play, when it was actually 0-for-5.
That’s the first time Buffalo has had to kill off five penalties since March 7, covering 21 games.
The players really don’t want this season to end, but it’s down to three more games against the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
It all starts Saturday afternoon against the Isles, as Buffalo will have the chance for its first four-game winning streak of the season.
***Photo: Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres)
