(WGR 550) – Tuesday and Wednesday are prime examples of why fans get frustrated with the Buffalo Sabres.
Tuesday saw the Sabres completely no-show against one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League, which spelled a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Despite Buffalo leaving the first period down 3-1 against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, the Sabres responded with four unanswered goals to win, 5-3.
There was no excuse for this team not to beat the Ducks, and Wednesday looked like a whole new team showed up. The work ethic was there, the shot mentality was there, and they didn’t let a two-goal deficit deter them.
It didn‘t start well, as Casey Mittelstadt allowed Anze Kopitar to skate right by him to put the Kings in front just 2:55 into the game. It was just hard for me to believe Mittelstadt was so oblivious to Kopitar coming up ice and heading to the net.
The next two goals were on Devon Levi. He had clear looks at shots by Adrian Kempe and Pierre-Luc Dubois, but couldn’t make the save. He would want both goals back, but I was very impressed with the rest of his game.
Levi made some great saves when there were breakdowns, and slammed the door on the Kings, making 38 saves on the game.
I’ve seen some good games from the Dylan Cozens line, but Wednesday was their best game together in the NHL. Both JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn had three-point nights, while Cozens also had a goal and an assist.
After the Kopitar goal, Buffalo tied it just 2:06 later when the line came through the neutral zone with speed and Peterka scored off a Cozens rebound.
In the second period, the line scored two goals in 2:08 to tie the game at 3-3.
Quinn showed supreme effort when he dove at a puck just inside his own blue line, and swept it up ice to send in the streaking Peterka on a breakaway.
Moments later, Quinn’s tying goal was a bullet from the high slot.
Alex Tuch had a great game, as he not only played on his line, but he often filled in for the injured Zemgus Girgensons on his line. Tuch played 21:24, and had six shots on net and 11 shot attempts.
The work Peyton Krebs and Eric Robinson put in on a forecheck helped Robinson come out with the puck, and find an open Tuch for his 13th goal of the season.
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The media in Los Angeles was so impressed with Tage Thompson and how he dominated every time he had the puck, they made him the first star of the game despite having no points.
Thompson played 19:37, and had four shots on goal and 13 shot attempts.
Buffalo was relentless in all three zones, and forced the Kings into more turnovers than I can even count. It seemed like every time a Los Angeles player had the puck, he’d just throw it anywhere and often it was to a Sabres player there.
"The stupidity that went into this loss is beyond explainable," said Kings head coach Todd McLellan following the loss.
If the Sabres were that hard on pucks and the forecheck every night, we’d be talking about a team in the playoffs.
The win moved the Sabres ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the standings, meaning now Buffalo must leapfrog five teams to get to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Detroit Red Wings currently occupy that spot and are seven points ahead of the Sabres.
Buffalo is now off until Saturday afternoon when they head to San Jose to face the Sharks for a 4 p.m. EST matinee game.
