Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres played a really nice game against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, but lost in a shootout 3-2.
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The only goals Buffalo could put past Connor Hellebuyck were two hard-working markers from Zemgus Girgensons. It wasn’t from a lack of effort, as the Sabres were hard on pucks, good on the forecheck and got 37 shots on Hellebuyck, who, amazingly enough, wasn’t even picked as a star in this game. He was obviously the first star.
Buffalo had fallen behind badly in the two games before this and still managed to pick up three out of four points. This effort gave the Sabres points in seven-straight games and an 8-3-3 record in the month of March. This all after ending February on a six-game losing streak.
Craig Anderson only gave up two goals, but the second one was simply a shot from the right circle that Mason Appleton just beat him on. Anderson didn’t look comfortable in Sunday’s game, and he didn’t look comfortable in the first 40 minutes of this one either.
In the third period, he did make some big saves on a Pierre-Luc Dubois breakaway and a huge stop from the slot on Evgeny Svechnikov at the horn. He only faced one Winnipeg shot in the overtime, and then proceeded to get scored on when facing all three Jets shootout attempts from Dubois, Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele.
All three Jets forwards have been very good in their careers at the shootout.
That again isn’t like Anderson.
It also was very strange that he, as the Sabres' No. 1 goalie, didn’t play the games on Friday and Monday. Dustin Tokarski got those games, while Anderson played Sunday against the New York Rangers. I asked head coach Don Granato if Anderson needed a bit of a break.
“With 'Andy,' we’re staying with what I’ve mentioned. He’s been our No. 1 ,and when he’s ready to and we feel he’s ready to go and when we’ve given him enough time in between games, that he’ll go in there,” Granato said.
Before Friday, Anderson had played Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks, so it hadn’t been a busy week for him. That means either he didn’t feel ready to play Friday or Mike Bales didn’t feel he was ready.
The Sabres got a power play in overtime when Tage Thompson had a breakaway and was slashed by Dubois. He still got the shot off, which is why it wasn’t a penalty shot. The Sabres got six shots in the overtime, while Dubois hit the post.
This is the second-straight season Girgensons has reached double figures in goals. This year, he has 10 goals in 42 games, which is a 20-goal pace. Dring the 2019-20 season, he netted 12 in 69 games, which is a 14-goal pace. Remember, he missed all of the shortened 2020-21 season due to a hamstring injury.
On the other wing, Kyle Okposo has 17 goals in 62 games, which would give him 22 over 82 games. When you’re looking for an energy line that can also contribute, that’s what I’ve been talking about for years.
If you replace Cody Eakin with Vinnie Hinostroza, that is what I’d be looking for in the bottom-six. Hinostroza is on an 82-game pace of 19 goals.
Over the last little while, Henri Jokiharju has seen his game slip a little. I think the maturity that these young players are starting to show is a tribute to the type of leaders their captains, Okposo and Girgensons, are. The team played well on Wednesday, but Jokiharju wasn’t buying it for himself.
“I’ve got to be honest with myself, I feel I didn’t do my job that well today and they got lots of chances out there. So I need to hold myself responsible for that to," Jokiharju said following the loss. "I feel we didn’t do a good enough job, and thanks to 'Andy' out there. that’s why we got into OT.”
In the month of March, both Victor Olofsson and Jeff Skinner scored seven goals. The team was seventh in the NHL with a points percentage of .679. That’s better than the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Yes, there’s no pressure on this team and that has to be taken into account, but you also can’t take away the drastic improvement we’ve seen from them and their young players.
***Photo: Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres), Bill Wippert (@BWipp)
