Vancouver, B.C. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres continued their Western road trip on Saturday night with a matchup against the winless Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks are off to a historic bad start in terms of league and franchise history. Vancouver is the first team in NHL history to lead the first three games of the season by large margins, then lose the lead and the game. After their first four games they had a record of 0-3-1.
After their first four games, Vancouver sat with a record of 0-3-1.
The first period was completely controlled by the Sabres. Defensemen Rasmus Dahlin continued his impressive run of goals, scoring in his fifth-straight game just 5:53 into the game. Alex Tuch added his sixth of the season, as well, giving the Sabres a 2-0 lead.
The second period was more in Vancouver's control, but Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson answered the call with game-changing saves on several different occasions. Despite Canucks forward Conor Garland eventually breaking through later in the period, the score heading into the third period remained in favor of Buffalo, 2-1.
The third period was under complete control by the Sabres. The team scored three more goals in the frame at all different points. Victor Olofsson netted his third goal of the season about two minutes into the frame, Zemgus Girgensons then scored an empty-net goal with three minutes to go, and Olofsson capped things off with his second goal of the period to make the score 5-1, Sabres.
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Here are this game's three observations:
1.) Controlling the game
In years past, the Sabres have had issues gaining and keeping control of the pace of play. Often times, this was because the team would play exactly how their opponent played, meaning if they played a bad team they couldn't find a way to take control.
This hasn't been the case so far this season, though.
Through five games the Sabres have played a very consistent style of play that leads to them controlling the game through physicality and puck control.
When they play against weaker teams like Vancouver, they now find ways to exploit the weaknesses of the team, rather than playing with those same weaknesses.
2.) Defense leads to offense
Dahlin has proven so far that he can bury the puck in the back of the net, scoring eight points (5+3) in just five games. This doesn't cause a lack of skill on the defensive side of the puck, though.
Dahlin, along with the rest of the Sabres defensive corps, have been working extremely well together. Each pairing has complemented each other with one offensive-minded defenseman, and one defensive-minded defenseman.
Having the pairings constructed this way gives players like Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power the opportunity to join offensive rushes, knowing that someone will be covering for them. Along with that, the distribution from the defense to the forwards has led to many more odd-man rushes in the Sabres' favor.
3.) Keep the momentum going
Three wins on this Western road trip has been a hard thing for the Sabres to do in recent years, having not been able to sweep the Western Canadian teams since 2018.
Momentum breeds confidence, which is one thing the Sabres have lacked in previous seasons. Gaining the confidence and chemistry as a team will allow the Sabres to beat most teams night-in and night-out.
Buffalo needs to continue that momentum moving into Seattle on Tuesday before heading home for a three-game homestand.
The team is buzzing, and so is the fanbase. Bringing that momentum home would be huge for the next part of the schedule.
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The Sabres travel to Seattle next to end their road trip against the Kraken, where they'll play the first of two matchups this season. The Sabres have yet to find a win over the Kraken, losing both games against Seattle last season in their inaugural season.
Faceoff on Tuesday is set for 10 p.m. ET at Climate Pledge Arena, with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 9 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton.
