Boston, Mass. (WGR 550) – I can’t explain it. I really can’t explain it.
The Buffalo Sabres have played so many games where they’ve gotten behind early and could never catch up. They’ve had 30- and 20-minute efforts, and then their last two wins were 60-minute, supreme effort wins on the road against the two best teams in the National Hockey League.
On Nov. 27, Buffalo beat the New York Rangers, 5-1, at Madison Square Garden. On Thursday, the Sabres knocked off the Bruins, 3-1, in Boston. Both games showed what kind of team the Sabres are capable of being.
This was high level of compete by 19 players for 60 minutes. Even when a couple of breaks went against them, the Sabres never let up.
I think what’s more impressive is three of their best players - Rasmus Dahlin, Alex Tuch and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - didn’t play due to injuries and illness.
Since Luukkonen was sick, Devon Levi was recalled from the Rochester Americans and was stellar, making 30 saves ,including 14 in the third period. The only goal on Levi was a pass by Bruins captain Brad Marchand that hit Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson and went in.
Levi looked like a completely different goalie after just two games in the American Hockey League. He said afterwards it was only two games, but he learned a lot in the time with the Amerks. He’s glad he went down and got into a rhythm in the two games he played.
Levi also said the game was special, because it was in the arena where he and his Northeastern University Huskies won the Beanpot Tournament.
I have to talk about the defensive pairing of Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power. Talk about stepping up in Dahlin’s absence.
Samuelsson hasn’t seemed himself lately, but he couldn’t have been better in this game. He and Power continually frustrated the Bruins with the way they defended. Power played 28:27 and was active all night, while Samuelsson blocked nine shots in 25:57 of work.
There is no way I would break these two up whenever Dahlin gets back. Dahlin has played with Henri Jokiharju before, and played well with him.
I thought Connor Clifton returned to Boston and had a strong game. He made a great pass to Tage Thompson in the center of the ice for Buffalo’s second goal to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.
I thought newly acquired Eric Robinson played very well. He and Samuelsson had key blocked shots while killing a penalty, and he scored a goal that was disallowed by being hard at the net.
The NHL claims Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo interfered with Linus Ullmark by poking their sticks into Ullmark’s pads, but whether it was the right call or not, it was nice to see three Sabres right on top of the goaltender.
Buffalo didn’t let that adversity stop them. The first period ended 0-0, but Buffalo outshot Boston, 19-5. That was a proper reflection on how the game was going.
Buffalo finally earned the lead just 1:18 into the second period after JJ Peterka wired a shot past Ullmark. Dylan Cozens won the draw cleanly to Peterka, while Zach Benson positioned himself in front of the goalie.
Even after the bad break gave Boston their goal, I never saw the Sabres let up. They competed all night and got rewarded. Victor Olofsson sealed the game in the third period, scoring on a 2-on-1 rush with Robinson.
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After the game, Power talked about how they had to be smart with the puck and smart with their gaps, especially with Dahlin out.
Thompson rightfully said they outcompeted the Bruins, and the Sabres were hard to play against.
"We made Boston earn every inch out there," he said.
I know fans are happy they saw such a convincing victory over one of the best teams in the league. I can also feel their frustration, though.
Buffalo has beaten the Rangers, Boston, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. There’s no way they should be where they are in the standings. They showed, again, the team they should be.
Of course, it’s not too late for Buffalo to get going on a winning streak.
Before leaving for Colorado next week, the Sabres have home games against the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes. If the Sabres go out and work just as hard in those games as they did in Boston and New York, they’ll have a good chance of leaving for their three-game road trip on a winning streak.
