The undefeated Buffalo Sabres took to the ice on Tuesday night to remain as such at KeyBank Center, facing their second Western Conference team in a row in the Vancouver Canucks.
The Sabres came into the game as one of the bigger surprises after the NHL's opening weekend slate of games. They continued to turn heads on Tuesday night with a 5-2 win to earn a third-straight win.
The Canucks battled hard early and put the Sabres behind in the first period, but Buffalo battled right back to tie the game before giving up a late first period goal to trail heading into the intermission.
Buffalo tied things up in the second period, with alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons cleaning up in front off a shot from Kyle Okposo. The Sabres dominated the Canucks throughout the second period, applying constant pressure.
Buffalo would carry that momentum into the third period, where the game broke wide-open.
Sabres forward Jeff Skinner found himself with the puck in front of the net on his backhand. He roofed a puck top shelf and put the Sabres up for good. Tage Thompson added an insurance marker just 23 seconds later, while Rasmus Asplund found his first goal of the year on the empty netter.
Now, let's dig into some more details with three observations from Tuesday's game:
1.) Move over LOG line, the GEO line is here
Going back to the 2019-2020 season, the Sabres developed a great shutdown line with Girgensons and Kyle Okposo, as well as former Sabres forward Johan Larsson. One of the best lines in the league at shutting down the team opposition, the line showed an offensive punch, at times, and a penchant for hemming teams in their own end with relentless pressure.
Last season, the Sabres signed Cody Eakin to a two-year deal to replace Larsson in the lineup. Results did not fare exactly as the Sabres would have liked. The Sabres lost Zemgus Girgensons to a hamstring injury before the season started.
Meanwhile, Eakin found himself on a line with Tobias Rieder and Okposo, and that line got dominated by the opposition on a night-in, night-out basis. As a healthy scratch at the end of the season, many wondered if Eakin would have a spot in this season's lineup.
Re-enter Girgensons from injury, and it seems the Sabres found the line they've been looking for out of the GEO line (Girgensons-Eakin-Okposo). Through three games, the line has generated five goals and nine points.
It remains to be seen if this is the Eakin we will get for a full season, but if Girgensons and Okposo can re-gain the form they had while playing with Johan Larsson a couple of seasons ago, opposing teams are going to get frustrated playing the Sabres for a least 12 or so minutes a night.
2.) Craig Anderson is playing like his old self
Anderson was an upstart backup for both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers before a Colorado Avalanche team in need of a new starter came calling.
The Avalanche signed Anderson to a two-year deal, which in the first year, Anderson played 71 regular season games. He had arrived as a starter for Colorado, and would later take the helm for the Ottawa Senators, where he'd be their starter for most of the next 10 seasons.
Last season, Anderson found himself on the taxi squad of the Washington Capitals, where he saw just four games of action but posted a .915 save percentage.
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams must have seen something he liked, because he saw fit to sign the goaltender to a one-year deal at the young age of just 40 years.
So far through two games, Anderson has given the Sabres two stellar performances, allowing just three goals in two contests, posting a .954 save percentage.
Anderson made timely saves on Tuesday that most NHL teams should expect from a starting caliber goalie. He's allowed the Sabres to play their game in front of him while holding down the fort for Buffalo.
Whether he'll be able to maintain that over a full NHL season at his age is yet to be seen, but the Sabres and Anderson are off to an excellent start.
3.) Sabres aren't just getting lucky - they're dominating their opponents
It's a small sample size, and it might not be worth much, but the Sabres aren't just hanging in there throughout their first three games of the season.
The Sabres have started the year posting the second-highest team expected goals-for percentage at 5-on-5 (64.65%). This means that in games against their opponents, the Sabres have controlled the share of play where goals should be expected more than what is expected of their opponents. Expected goals is a metric based on highly detailed models that take into accounts every single shot taken on the ice.
That's a highly simplistic view of it.
The main takeaway is the Sabres are controlling play against their opponents so far. Again, we're early in the season, and teams are still finding their footing, but the Sabres have, at least, found a way to make things exciting for the fans who are paying attention.
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The Sabres will next welcome back former goaltender Linus Ullmark and forwards Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar, as they host the Boston Bruins for the final game of their season-opening four-game homestand.
We'll get things started on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET with the Sabres Pregame Show hosted by Schopp and the Bulldog. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.