Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - This week, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was very honest with his team.
He told the group in order for the Sabres to take the next step in becoming a good team, they must stop stacking losses. Ruff said that good teams take one loss and immediately win the next game. One loss can’t become two losses, and then become three.
It's something they hadn't done until Thursday.
The Sabres laid an egg on Monday, losing to the Montreal Canadiens, 7-5.
On Thursday, they blew a 2-1 lead to the St. Louis Blues, scored what would’ve been the tying goal in the third period but had it disallowed on a goaltender interference penalty, but still did what their coach asked them to do: Win in overtime after just one loss.
Buffalo started overtime with a full two-minute power play, and Rasmus Dahlin ripped a one-timer from the right circle to secure the two points.
Photographer Micheline Michaelina got an amazing photo of the goal. You can see the puck over the shoulder of Blues goalie Jordan Binnington and right under the crossbar.
With the win, the Sabres have won 4-out-of-5 games after losing three in-a-row. Buffalo is now one point back of the Boston Bruins for the third and final Atlantic Division playoff spot, and one point behind the New York Islanders for the Eastern Conference’s last Wild Card spot.
Buffalo went 1-for-3 on the power play Thursday, giving them a goal in five-straight games with the extra man, and 8-of-9 games. In that time, they’re 9-of-30 (30%), which has them fourth in the NHL during that time period.
Dahlin has 12 points in his last nine games.
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The Sabres got behind 1-0 when Owen Power mishandled the puck in front of Devon Levi, allowing Brandon Saad to swoop in and score for the Blues.
Buffalo shook it off, though, and continued to create good scoring opportunities. It paid off just four seconds after a power play ended, as Zach Benson came from the left of Binnington, who cheated looking for a cross-crease pass. Benson noticed and shot instead, giving him three goals in four games.
Ever since Benson got healthy, he has pitched a tent around the opposing goalies.
Ryan McLeod was the beneficiary of that before the first period ended. By going to the net, not only is Benson bothering Binnington, but he brings an opponent with him for more traffic. McLeod’s shot from the right point went in off of Colton Parayko, as he was trying to deal with Benson.
Buffalo wasn’t at its best in the second period, as Pavel Buchnevich beat Levi with an unscreened shot that he would want back.
A bit later, instead of knocking Saad down near the net, Dahlin allowed him to stand next to Levi, and he easily converted a rebound to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.
Then came, what I feel was, a horrible call by the NHL.
In the third period, Dylan Cozens went into the corner and just wouldn’t be denied. He won numerous battles, which sent his man flying. He then went straight to the net, and converted a rebound.
Remember earlier when I said Benson is always around the net? He went there along with Blues defenseman Ryan Suter, and screened Binnington. Suter made contact with Benson, and held him there as Binnington came up to pin him from the other side.
I think the NHL absolutely got it wrong, and I remember thinking it would be a shame to lose the game by getting a call like that.
Luckily for them, they didn’t. They continued to play like they did in the first period, and the new line of McLeod with Benson and Alex Tuch came through.
I thought McLeod made a really savvy play with a winger he had hardly ever played with until Thursday. As McLeod was carrying the puck behind the net, Tuch wisely backed away from the net. McLeod was looking right at him, and passed the puck to Tuch, who was where the center had come from.
Tuch had a gapping net to shoot at, and he tied the game at 3-3.
If you want to talk about another improvement from last year’s team, they got this game to overtime to secure, at least, another point. Not getting loser points last season was one of the main reasons why they didn't challenge for a playoff spot.
The Blues helped Buffalo’s cause, as Justin Faulk had come in from the point and knocked down Levi for a penalty. It took 1:33, but the Sabres did score in overtime while playing at 4-on-3 for the win.
Buffalo was able to win this game without Tage Thompson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Levi wasn’t at his best, but maybe getting a win and playing in two-straight games will help him.
Ruff said Luukkonen had a good day on the ice Thursday, and if he doesn’t play Saturday in Philadelphia against the Flyers, he’ll probably play Wednesday night in Los Angeles against the Kings.
Meanwhile, Thompson is still considered day-to-day.