Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres were back in action on Thursday night for the first time in 10 days after having two games postponed due to the severe blizzard that struck Western New York. The team hosted the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center for the second time this year.
The first period was very back-and-forth between the two teams, with both sides having great chances. It took until the last five minutes of the period for either offense to convert, as Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt scored the first goal of the game.
The Sabres took their late first period goal and built on it all throughout the second period.
Jeff Skinner scored in the first two minutes of the period to make the score 2-0, then Mittelstadt netted his second goal of the game at the halfway point of the period to extend the lead to 3-0. Kyle Okposo then scored two goals of his own in quick succession, which made the score 5-0 by the end of the period.
Detroit came out with a score to settle in the third period, scoring three goals in just five minutes to make things interesting. Dominik Kubalik scored twice , while Jordan Oesterle added one to cut Buffalo's lead to 5-3.
However, Buffalo was able to hang on, as Okposo finished off his hat-trick with an empty-net tally to cement a 6-3, Sabres win.
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The Sabres won their fifth game in-a-row in a much-needed game for the community after a hard week.
Here are the three observations for this game:
1.) Secondary scoring
Throughout the season so far, the big guns of the Sabres have been doing their jobs night-in and night-out. Sometimes, though, the team needs to rely on other means of production on the offensive side of the puck.
Okposo and Mittelstadt provided just that on Thursday with their combined five goals.
Other players like Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost and Peyton Krebs also chipped in with assists on multiple goals.
The best teams in the NHL have consistent scoring up-and-down the lineup game-after-game, and the Sabres seem to have hit their stride in that regard this season.
Despite not playing for 10 days, Buffalo is still at the top of the league in scoring, only behind the Boston Bruins with 133 goals.
2.) Pick up where you left off
When teams have long breaks like this, there's usually the worry that they won't be able to keep the consistency they had before their break. The Sabres were originally scheduled to play last Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It wasn't even noticeable that they hadn't played in over a week.
Games such as these are very important at this point of the season, especially when teams are in the hunt for the playoffs. Facing off against a divisional foe that's ahead in the standings can be a daunting task, but the Sabres were up for the challenge, and are proving they deserve to be where they are.
3.) Uplifting the community
The City of Buffalo is no stranger to bad snow storms. The Blizzard of '77, the October Surprise, "Snowvember", and even "Snowvember 2.0" just before Thanksgiving this year.
This most recent storm though, the Blizzard of '22, has really shook the community. The timing of the storm being around the Christmas holiday and the devastation it caused for so many people made it slightly different than all the rest.
While sports aren't everything, they can help us in times when we need a distraction. The Sabres did just that for the community with this game.
The city showed up with a sell-out crowd mere hours after cleaning out, and the Sabres showed up for them in full force, providing that distraction we all needed.
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The Sabres will travel to Boston on Saturday afternoon to take on the Bruins in a New Year's Eve matchup at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST with pregame coverage starting at 12 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
