Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres finally got it done, and beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, 4-2.
At the end of 40 minutes, it was 3-0, and Buffalo got trapped in their end for most of the third period. Buffalo got outshot, 8-0, and I’d be surprised if they had 60 seconds inside the Carolina zone in the final 20 minutes.
What won them the game and prevented them giving up another three-goal lead is they finally listened to their head coach. Lindy Ruff watched his team be passive and give up goals at 3:45 of the third period and at 16:50 with the Hurricanes goaltender pulled.
After giving up two 6-on-5 goals to the Colorado Avalanche, only to lose in overtime, Ruff went over this with his team, telling them he wants them to be aggressive. He practiced it with them, and they totally ignored him until he called timeout right after Marty Necas made it 3-2.
Ruff implored his team to get aggressive, go straight towards the puck. And all of a sudden, the Hurricanes stopped looking like the Harlem Globetrotters inside the zone.
We saw blocked shots by Bo Byram and Jack Quinn, and we saw the Sabres win battles, get possession of the puck and get it out of the zone.
Tage Thompson finally got a chance at the open net and it hit the post. Then, all of a sudden, the man many think is the fastest skater in the NHL looked like he was going to get in alone, but before he touched the puck, Brett Burns slashed Ryan McLeod’s stick right before he was going to touch the puck and put it into the empty net.
The referee awarded McLeod the goal, which completed his first NHL hat-trick.
It’s just another example of when this team plays the way Ruff wants them to play, they can be a good team and win.
Buffalo has won 3-of-4 games, with two of those wins against the Canes and the NHL-leading Washington Capitals. Buffalo would have its first four-game winning streak in two years had they not blown a 2-0 lead to a bad Seattle Kraken team on Saturday in a 6-2 loss.
Even though McLeod had a hat-trick, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the star of the game, making 35 saves, including 18 in the second period.
McLeod gave the team a 1-0 lead just 43 seconds into the game when he came off the bench like he was shot out of a cannon, and took a pass from Connor Clifton. He then wristed a shot past Dustin Tokarski, who should’ve easily had it.
Buffalo then took two-consecutive penalties, and did a fantastic job of keeping Carolina to the outside. They had one Grade-A chance when Sebastian Aho popped open in the slot, but Luukkonen made a huge save.
McLeod’s second goal was a heads-up play by the centermen.
With just under six seconds left on the clock, McLeod won the faceoff to Jason Zucker, who was on the left wall. McLeod didn’t stand around and admire his work. He went straight to the net, collecting the puck that Zucker put there, and it was 3-0 after 40 minutes.
It was a horrible brain cramp by Aho, who just stood there, giving McLeod a free lane to the crease.
What I liked was the desperation we saw, as Buffalo had 25 blocked shots. Alex Tuch had Tyson Kozak had four blocks each, while Mattias Samuelsson and Byram had three.
Related
So now this team is nine points out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, and 10 points out of third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Pittsburgh Penguins make their first visit to Buffalo on Friday night. The Pens are five points in front of Buffalo, but the Sabres have two games in-hand.