Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - After a 4-3 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday in Buffalo, Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said this team is different, and is playing differently.
After the defenseman took responsibility for all three Vegas goals, he ripped a shot, with Alex Tuch providing the screen, that tied the game at 3-3 with 13.6 seconds left in regulation and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen pulled for the extra attacker.
"All the chances they had were from my f*** ups, so I’ve got to stop doing that and we’ll be really good next game," said Dahlin following the win.
Yes, Dahlin scored the goal to tie the game, but Ruff no longer can live with his mistakes.
"The reason we’ve been losing a lot of games is puck management, and if you ask him, he’s going to say, 'Wrong play, wrong time.' We’ve got to get rid of wrong play, wrong time," said Ruff following the win. "A couple of minutes left, he understands it. Keep the puck to the outside, and we made another high risk play that we paid dearly for."
If you all also look at that third Vegas goal, Luukkonen stops Mark Stone’s shot from the high slot, but he has to hold on to it. Instead, he drops it in the crease, Jack Eichel outmuscles Tage Thompson, who then falls, and Eichel pushed the puck laying in the crease into the net.
Dahlin talked about how, overall, the team stayed in their structure and were patient, only allowing 19 shots in 65 minutes of hockey.
"We looked like a real team," he said.
There were many things to like about the Sabres, as they now are starting to become a team. One instance was forward Peyton Krebs stepping in immediately after Brett Howden laid a head shot on Jiri Kulich, knocking him out of the game.
Buffalo was outplaying the Golden Knights, but fell behind, 3-2, with 2:34 left in regulation. The good news is they persevered and won.
"A step in the right direction, for sure. Now we look like a team," Dahlin said. "We’ve had a lot of discussion lately about how we want to play these last games, and today was a good step in the right direction."
When Dahlin was asked what team means to him, he says it's things that no one in the media will see in the locker room.
"It’s a different vibe right now. Guys are stepping up now, being really good leaders and guys want to be here. We want to make a difference," Dahlin explained.
Buffalo got a huge break when playing at 6-on-5, Ryan McLeod turned the puck over at the blue line to Tomas Hertl, who took off and had nobody between himself and a wide-open net.
Hertl then tried to pass to Eichel, who was well covered by Owen Power, and cost his team another point.
Luukkonen made up for the Eichel goal by stopping the former Sabres captain in the shootout and on a breakaway in overtime, forcing him to get too far past the net on his move. Eichel also hit the post in the overtime.
In the shootout, Tage Thompson had Adin Hill beaten but rang the post. Then, former Sabres winger Victor Olofsson scored on Luukkonen, but then slammed the door on Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev.
Jack Quinn sat for a lot of this game, and only had three shifts in the third period. However, he kept himself ready and scored a gorgeous shootout goal.
Tuch also made a beautiful move on Hill for his shootout goal to win the game for Buffalo.
I also want to talk about McLeod. It seems like he gets better in every game played. When Buffalo fell behind 2-0, McLeod used his speed to get open through the left circle, and scored through Hill for his 15th of the season.
Then in the third period, with Buffalo trailing 2-1 and on the power play, McLeod used that speed to get in behind the net quickly on Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who panicked and sent the puck right up the slot to a wide-open Jason Zucker. Zucker then made no mistake, scoring his team-leading 10th power play goal of the season.
After the game, McLeod did believe he got a piece of Pietrangelo’s stick.
Eichel hardly did anything until the game was 57:26 old. McLeod has the speed to keep up with players like Eichel and Connor McDavid. In this game, he played 22:08. His season high came against the Columbus Blue Jackets when he played 22:19.
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It’s weird that the Sabres are home against the fourth-ranked Golden Knights and the 11th-ranked Edmonton Oilers and get big wins. They go to Detroit and get blasted by the 22nd place Red Wings, giving up seven goals.
Buffalo is now 17-13-3 playing in Western New York, but they hit the road for four games starting Monday in Boston against the Bruins. Buffalo has lost eight-straight away from home.