(WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres go into their bye week and the NHL All-Star break with a two-game winning streak thanks to a 5-2 win on Saturday in San Jose over the Sharks.
The Sharks took a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Buffalo responded with five unanswered goals to win it.
The Sabres got behind 3-1 on Wednesday in Los Angeles against the Kings and scored four unanswered goals to win, 5-3.
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Buffalo got some really bad news on Saturday, as winger Jack Quinn had to be helped off the ice when his left leg folded under him. Quinn had already missed 32 games with a torn Achilles suffered in June.
"We don't know the extent of how long he's going to be out, but it's certainly not going to be day-to-day," said Sabres head coach Don Granato after the game.
In 17 games this season, Quinn had five goals and seven assists for 12 points. That works out to 24 goals and 34 assists for 58 points over 82 games.
It’s almost a shame the team is going into a break. Buffalo is 4-2-0 in its last six games, 7-4-0 in its last 11, 8-5-0 in its last 13 and 9-6-1 in its last 16 games played.
Some players on the Sabres roster are starting to heat up.
JJ Peterka put up his second-straight two-goal game on Saturday, and has five goals and seven points in his last five games.
Dylan Cozens was picked by his teammates as the player of the game, thanks to his three-point afternoon. In his last four games, he has three goals and four assists for seven points.
Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist, giving him five goals and five assists for 10 points in 11 games.
Casey Mittelstadt was a well-deserving second star in this game.
Late in the first period, Mittelstadt won two separate battles along the wall, extending possession and getting the puck to Tuch, who found an open Jordan Greenway for a goal. Early in the second period, he hounded the Sharks and caused a turnover in the offensive zone. He calmly found Tuch, who used Greenway for a screen to score his 14th goal of the season.
The problem certainly hasn’t been goaltending, as Buffalo has gotten some great goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Saturday was no different.
The problem for Buffalo this season has been its first periods.
The Sabres get absolutely demolished in the opening period, and in many games have not even been close to being ready to play. The Sabres have been outscored, 62-34, in the first period this season.
In the third period, the Sabres have outscored their opponents, 62-41. Buffalo has been outscored by one goal in the second period.
Imagine where this team would be if they were just even in the first period.
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There are some positives to take out of the last few games, but the fact remains the Sabres are not making up ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Detroit hosts the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night, and going into that game, the Red Wings lead Buffalo by seven points for the eighth and final playoff spot.
I think the only way this team gets back into the playoff conversation is by ripping off an 8-to-10-game winning streak.
If we were numbering lines, the line of Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo would easily be the Sabres’ third line. That can't happen if Buffalo wants to catch fire.
Rasmus Dahlin also can’t be average to pretty good if the Sabres want to catch fire. He has to be the elite version of himself.
I know it's depressing to be reading stuff like this after going 2-1-0 on their California road trip, but after seeing it play out, it absolutely could have, and should have been a 3-0-0 road trip. That’s harsh, but that’s the position this team has put itself in before their break.
The team will next practice on Sunday, Feb. 4 before hosting the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
After Saturday’s win over the Washington Capitals, the Stars have a points percentage of .673.
