Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A couple of improbable things happened on Saturday, as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1, to run their winning streak up to eight-straight games.
First, they dominated a game and beat a team without their captain and best player, Rasmus Dahlin.
Then, it was Mattias Samuelsson taking over with a goal and two assists, continuing to be Buffalo’s best defenseman from start-to-finish.
On Buffalo's first goal that tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period, Samuelsson made a big hit along the wall to not only kill the play, but he immediately grabbed the puck and started up ice. He made a perfect pass to Jack Quinn, who sent in Ryan McLeod for the goal.
Just 1:33 later, Samuelsson got the puck to Tage Thompson, who put the puck at the net.
Many fans love to hate Peyton Krebs, but they aren’t watching hard enough, because Krebs was right where he always is: In the crease. He tipped the puck in past Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo to make it 2-1.
Just 4:42 after that goal, Samuelsson saw an opening and jumped into the left circle from the point. Quinn found him, and the defenseman scored his career-best sixth goal of the season. He’s also set career-high totals in assists (12) and points (18).
Samuelsson played 24:56 of ice-time, and registered six hits and two blocked shots.
Bo Byram and Owen Power were also excellent in Dahlin's absence on Saturday, as Byram led the team with 27:52 of ice-time and Power skated 25:29.
The first period was a pretty even affair, but Buffalo really took over in the second, outshooting the Bruins, 13-2.
Boston had an 11-8 shots advantage in the third period, but it was pretty much still all Sabres.
This streak started Dec. 9 in Edmonton against the Oilers, where Buffalo beat them in overtime, 4-3.
Let's start with the goaltending during this streak: Alex Lyon is 6-0-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Meanwhile, Luukkonen is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage.
In these eight wins, Thompson has five goals and six assists for 11 points.
In seven games, Dahlin has two goals and six assists for eight points.
McLeod has two goals and five assists for seven points in the eight-game winning streak.
In addition, Samuelsson and Quinn both have a goal and five assists for six points.
Taking a look at the standings, Buffalo is tied for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers. Both teams have a .568 point percentage, but the Sabres are in ninth because the Panthers have the tie-breaker with more regulation wins.
As far as the Atlantic Division goes, the Detroit Red Wings are in third with a points percentage of .603.
Buffalo doesn’t play again until Monday in St. Louis, where Dahlin is supposed to rejoin the team for a matchup with the Blues.
Many teams around Buffalo are playing Sunday, as the Montreal Canadiens visit the Tampa Bay Lightning, the New York Islanders are in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets, the Red Wings host the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in Chicago against the Blackhawks, and the Philadelphia Flyers are out west in Seattle against the Kraken.
The Sabres should have revenge on their mind, as the Blues, who are 28th in the NHL, walked into Buffalo back on Nov. 6 and left with a 3-0 win.
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