Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres came into Edmonton on Thursday on such a high from their last two games, but it all came crashing down against the Oilers.
Buffalo was a step slower both physically and mentally, and got run out of the rink by Connor McDavid and the speed of the Oilers, 6-1.
Tage Thompson had a few really good scoring chances on the night, but he and Jeff Skinner were on the ice for four of Edmonton’s six goals. By the third period, head coach Don Granato had seen enough and put Peyton Krebs in Skinner’s spot.
In the Sabres' win over the Oilers back on Nov. 12 in Buffalo, Buffalo took McDavid’s time and space away from him, and you really didn’t even notice him until the last five minutes of the game.
Nearly four months later, Edmonton’s new head coach Jay Woodcroft put his superstar out there against Mattias Samuelsson, and the youngster got a quick education on what elite speed can do to you.
I’m not real worried about Samuelsson, because he will learn from that experience and be better next time he sees it.
Buffalo was actually lucky the score wasn’t 9-1 or 10-1 in the end, as McDavid and Evander Kane botched a 2-on-0 rush, and later a 2-on-1 rush when McDavid missed the net. Kane had two more wide-open chances, where Craig Anderson robbed him and he hit the post.
When I spoke with Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams on Wednesday, I spoke to him about Anderson and if he had spoken with the goalie about possibly trading him away before Monday’s deadline.
“I’ve already had that conversation with him. I wanted him to know personally, directly from me that let's talk about this," Adams explained. "We have to have an appreciation for not only what he’s done for us this season, but for the career he’s had. So we had a conversation, and I was honest. I asked him where he’s at and how he’s feeling about things, and I believe we, as an organization, have to do things the right way. [He's] first class, and [we] owed him that conversation.
“I just think in my role, you have to be honest. You have to have conversations with players because to me, the more transparency that you show players, the more they appreciate it. I think that will go a long way not just with a guy like Craig, but all our players.”
Related
Things actually get harder on Friday, as Buffalo moves on to Calgary to play the Flames.
The Sabres probably played their worst game of the season when the Flames came to Buffalo on Nov. 18 and dominated, 5-0. Jacob Markstrom shut the Sabres out, and leads the NHL, by far, with nine shutouts.
Markstrom’s 29 wins ranks fifth in the league. His .927 save percentage is fourth, and his 2.09 goals-against average is third. As a team, the Flames are second in the NHL on defense with a 2.43 goals-against average.
With Anderson playing on Thursday, it's likely that Dustin Tokarski will get the call in goal on Friday.
Calgary can also score goals, as Johnny Gaudreau is having a great year. He’s fourth in NHL scoring with 27 goals and 52 assists for 79 points. In the past, he’s had seasons of 99, 84 and 78 points. In his career over 82 games, he averages 28 goals and 53 assists for 81 points.
Calgary has two 30-goal scorers in Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane. Matthew Tkachuk has 28 goals.
Sean Monahan used to be a huge points producer, but the Flames are doing it without his production this year, as he only has eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points.
Calgary leads the Pacific Division and are sixth overall in the NHL with a .675 points percentage.
Calgary has won three of their last four games, and seven of their last 11. In February, they put together a 10-game winning streak.
Winning in Calgary is not easy, as the Flames are 19-5-5 this season at home.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR at 8 p.m. ET when Brian will bring you my interview with Kevyn Adams in its entirety.
Related
