Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres have been breaking a lot of streaks lately, and they put another to rest on Tuesday night.
Buffalo’s 4-2 win over Carolina was their first win in six years against the Hurricanes, snapping an 11-game losing streak.
Since March 1, the Sabres are 10-4-3, which is a points percentage of .676. That’s eighth in the NHL, and better than the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Buffalo is also 8-2-3 and 6-1-3, picking up points in nine out of 10 games.
The Sabres had different problems in playing Carolina on Tuesday night.
The Canes are the best defensive team in the NHL with the best penalty kill. Carolina lived up to every bit of that in the first period, pressuring and frustrating the Sabres into numerous turnovers.
Craig Anderson made quite a few huge saves, including breakaways by Seth Jarvis and Tony D’Angelo coming out of the penalty box. He made a real nice save while the Sabres were on the power play on Jordan Martinook.
We got to see first-hand what the Hurricanes do so well. Jordan Staal pressured Cody Eakin into a turnover, and before anybody on the Sabres could react, Nino Niederreiter found Jesper Fast open coming down the slot and it was 1-0.
Thanks to Anderson’s 12 saves in the period, the Sabres were still in the game and could move on to the second.
The Sabres got their legs moving and broke the high pressure that was being applied to them in the second.
Tage Thompson sprinted through the right circle and looked like he had an open shot on Freddie Andersen. Of course you would want your 31-goal scorer to shoot there, but Thompson used his vision to see Jeff Skinner coming up the slot. Thompson found him perfectly for an empty-net layup for Skinner's 29th of the season.
Skinner now has six goals in six games against his former team.
About the only scoring chance Buffalo generated in the first period was when Casey Mittelstadt came in through the right circle and beat Andersen only to hit the far post. He got the exact same opportunity in the second, and this time he picked the corner. It would absolutely be a goal that Andersen would want back.
I know in the last month we keep saying this, but I’ll say it again.
Niederreiter tied the game at 4:10 of the third period, and before March 1, Buffalo would’ve crumbled and lost the game. However, this improved bunch just kept coming at the Hurricanes.
Rasmus Dahlin made the play of the game, which led to the game-winning goal. He held his ground at the left point as the Hurricanes came at him with numbers. The defenseman said he faked pressure, and as Carolina tried to flip the puck past him for an outnumbered break up ice, Dahlin knocked the puck out of the air and quickly found Victor Olofsson, who was all by himself in front of the net. Olofsson wasted no time in whistling his ninth goal in 17 games past Andersen.
Again, earlier this season, Buffalo would’ve sat back under siege and hoped that Anderson could save the win for them.
Instead, Dylan Cozens kept working around the net during a power play and scored on his own rebound. It was Cozens' first goal in 18 games and second goal in 27 games.
The Sabres secured another signature win, beating Carolina for the first time since March 22, 2016.
Since March 1, Buffalo has beaten some very good teams. The list includes Toronto twice, the Minnesota Wild, Vegas, Calgary, Pittsburgh, Nashville Predators and Carolina.
Things don’t get any easier, which is just the way head coach Don Granato likes it. Buffalo is next on the road to face Carolina, the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay and Toronto.
One thing I can tell you is the Sabres are no longer afraid to go up against the best teams in the league. These four games pit them against the third-, second-, sixth- and fourth-best teams in the NHL.
***Photo: Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres), Joe Hrycych (@HrycychPhoto)
