Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For this game, I’m not going to harp on the past, or if the Buffalo Sabres can become a consistent hockey team.
In order to beat the No. 2 team in the NHL, the Sabres had to play well, and I thought they did just that. This comes especially after a four-game road trip, some late nights, some blown games, and a flight home from Las Vegas on Sunday.
The first thing I noticed Monday is the Sabres took the middle of the ice away from the Capitals. They played good 5-on-5 defense, and allowed just 25 shots in regulation time.
Washington never led in this game, and Alex Ovechkin wasn’t a factor whatsoever.
The player Buffalo had trouble with was Tom Wilson, who scored twice on Monday. The NHL’s best power forward has four goals in two games this season against the Sabres.
I thought there were two key parts in this game.
Tage Thompson was called for tripping at 1:01 of the third period, and the Sabres killed that penalty. The bench had to get a lift from that.
The Sabres were also playing well in the third period when a turnover got them hemmed into their own zone on a long shift. Yes, it was a lucky goal when Aliaksei Protas knocked a puck out of the air and in, but defenseman Owen Power needs to actually tie up Protas, not just stand next to him.
What was important is there was still 4:23 left in regulation time, and I saw no panic in Buffalo's game.
The Sabres also didn’t sit back in this contest.
In the third period, JJ Peterka tried to pass to Alex Tuch, and missed him when he should’ve shot on a 2-on-1 rush.
Buffalo had a power play, and Thompson was stopped by Charlie Lindgren on a one-timer from the left circle. Then Rasmus Dahlin had an open one-timer from the slot and put it over the net.
Thompson had a similar chance on the power play in the second period, and scored on a shot that hit 103 mph.
In overtime, Jason Zucker had a clear-cut breakaway and was stopped by Lindgren. Dahlin set up Tuch in overtime for an open one-timer, but he was stopped too.
Buffalo had the lead just 4:42 into the game when Tuch took the middle of the ice with speed. The puck was tapped by a Capitals player and went to Peterka, who thought he had scored the goal.
Tuch was given his first assist since Dec. 5 against the Winnipeg Jets, but I believe the league made a mistake by taking the assists away, as the Caps never had control of the puck.
The league struck again after midnight when they changed the goal to Tuch from Peterka. Strange that it would take two hours to change the goal.
Tuch came into the game with points in two of his last 14 games. He scored his second goal Monday by stealing the puck from Jakob Chychrun and going in on a breakaway.
"I think I’ve been pretty good defensively, and I think offensively, other than the Chicago [Blackhawks] game, I’ve been a little bit lost in my own game there," said Tuch of his own play after Monday’s win.
"I think tonight, I was a little more direct. I was causing some turnovers, I was on top of their guys, not giving them any breathing room. That’s when I’m at my best. In the past, maybe I’ve been too focused on just one thing or another and not focused on just going out and playing and feeling the game that I know I can play. It’s been inconsistent as of late. It’s not good enough, and I’m going to try to be better and try to roll this one into Ottawa, and have a good game in Ottawa too."
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff felt his team played the game the right way, and managed the puck much better than they did in Vegas.
The Sabres finished the first half of the season in last place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-21-5. That’s a points percentage of .426. There have been many frustrating losses and blown leads within those losses.
"It’s been a lot about trying to insert some confidence in players that, at times, were feeling a lot of stress," said Ruff following Monday's win. "It’s the same stress that the coaches feel, but they’re on the ice playing. When that many bad things happen, they’re looking to places for answers, and they’re looking to us to help with the answers. I think our puck support has been a lot better, and I think we’re on our way out of it."
Buffalo still has to leapfrog eight teams to get into the playoffs, and all but one team has games in-hand on Buffalo. Despite everything and all the losing they’ve done, the Sabres are only six points out of that spot, not 15 or 20 points, and they still have a whole half-season to play.
"It should drive all of us to know that you’re that close," Ruff said. "When you go through what we’ve went through, we should come out of this a better team, and everybody should come out as a better player and understand how hard it is to win games, and sometimes how easy it is to lose them. But we’re fortunate that with the way everything has unfolded, we’re within striking distance."
Ruff said following Monday's game that Thompson has been playing injured, which is why he’s been on the wing. He also said Jiri Kulich suffered a lower-body injury, which they’re hoping isn’t too long.
The team will practice on Wednesday, and then head to Ottawa to play the Senators on Thursday.
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