Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – As the Buffalo Sabres maneuver through their early season, they’re learning different lessons.
Buffalo upset the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night, 5-1.
The Sabres did not blow the Lightning out of the building, as the score may indicate. In the second period, Tampa Bay played pretty much the whole 20-minute stanza in Buffalo’s end.
It took the Sabres 13:16 to get its first shot on goal of the period, and it was a good chance from the near slot by Jeff Skinner on Brian Elliott. The second shot was a great play by Rasmus Dahlin dancing around the defenseman and finding a wide-open Anders Bjork, but Elliott got across the crease and robbed him.
The third shot put the Sabres ahead for good. Drake Caggiula read an errant Lightning pass at Tampa Bay’s blue line that hit the side wall and ricocheted out to center ice. The speedy Caggiula pounced on the puck like he was a guided missile, won the battle with the bigger Mikhail Sergachev and got in alone to net his first goal of the season.
Tampa Bay dominated the period, outshooting the Sabres 11-3, but got outscored 1-0 and trailed 2-1.
Sabres head coach Don Granato had seen enough. He got tired of watching his team show Tampa Bay too much respect, so he gave his team a stern message in the intermission.
“You have to respect everybody in this league, but there’s situations where you can give too much respect and that’s a flat out mistake,” Granato said angrily after the win.
Granato is the type of coach that is never afraid to give it to his team straight in situations like this.
“Sometimes you would like to give your team messages, but you can’t give it to them because they can’t handle it. But this group I have a lot of confidence in, and they’re competitors," Granato said. "We’ve got a locker room of guys that like to compete, and those are guys you can push.”
The message was definitely received, as the Sabres came out in the third period and outshot Tampa Bay, 13-11 and won going away.
In the third, Mark Pysyk rushed the puck up ice and got it in before losing it. Vinnie Hinostroza fought to get the puck right back and saw plenty of ice down the slot in front of him. He ripped his first goal with the Sabres by Elliott and learned that if he shoots the puck more, good things will happen.
Unlike Friday against the Boston Bruins, Granato put Pysyk and Robert Hagg out against Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat. I thought they were absolutely terrific, and along with Craig Anderson making 35 saves, they were the stars of the game.
None of those Lightning players had a point and were totally held in check. Stamkos was on the ice for four of Buffalo’s goals, as was Pysyk.
Hagg had a goal and an assist and was on for three Sabres goals. Pysyk played 19:29, while Hagg put in 19:14.
Victor Olofsson scored his first of two goals just 1:41 in, and it was Pysyk and Hagg who got the perfect breakout going. From the side of the net, Pysyk quickly found Hagg up the middle. He then took the puck up ice and relayed to Tage Thompson on the left wing. Thompson ripped a shot that Elliott kicked out to the right wing circle, and there was Olofsson to deposit the puck into an open net.
Jon Cooper’s team was only down two goals in the third period, but for reasons that I can’t think of, he elected to pull his goaltender with 5:41 left. Zemgus Girgensons won a draw, and Hagg scored five seconds later. Cooper kept Elliott out of the net, and Olofsson scored another empty netter, his fourth goal of the season.
Olofsson has six points in six games, and is Buffalo’s leading scorer.
Anderson only let in one goal, lowering his goals-against average to 1.76 and raising his save percentage to .944. That puts Anderson fifth in the NHL, while Dustin Tokarski is third.
As a team, the Sabres' goals-against is 1.83, which is second to the Carolina Hurricanes, who feature Freddie Andersen.
The win helped Buffalo stay in second place in the Atlantic Division at 4-1-1. The Florida Panthers are 6-0-0 and three points ahead of the Sabres.
The team will take Tuesday off, practice in Buffalo on Wednesday and leave for California to play in Anaheim on Thursday against the Ducks.
