Denver, Colo. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres kicked off their three-game road trip on Thursday night by paying a visit to Colorado to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche at Ball Arena.
The Sabres continued the trend this season of scoring in the opening minute, as Tage Thompson netted his 24th goal of the season to give the Sabres an early 1-0 lead. Alex Tuch scored a few minutes later to give his team a 2-0 lead, and firm control of the game early on.
The second period was more even between the two teams, but Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was a big reason why his team kept the lead. Luukkonen made several huge saves throughout the middle frame.
Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin eventually lengthened the Sabres' lead to 3-0 towards the end of the period with his 10th goal of the year.
Colorado came out firing in the third period when Mikko Rantanen scored early on. Former Sabres winger Evan Rodrigues then brought the Avalanche to within one goal with just over two minutes left in the game.
However, it was too little, too late for Colorado. Dylan Cozens sealed the victory for Buffalo with an empty-net goal that made the final score 4-2.
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The Sabres kept their consistent offensive prowess going for, yet, another win that helped them get their record back to .500 on the season.
Here are this game's three observations:
1.) Offensive confidence
The offensive side of the puck has been a major highlight in recent games for the Sabres. The team has scored 25 goals in the last five games, and has a record of 3-1-1 in that span because of this.
The production from the Sabres has been one to marvel at 30 games into the season, and has been the league best for about a week now. The confidence is showing in the players too.
Players like Cozens, Jack Quinn, and JJ Peterka are having bigger years than expected, which is earning them high praise around the NHL. In turn, this is giving them more confidence to do things they normally wouldn't, which sometimes lead to more goals and scoring opportunities.
2.) Hot goaltending
For the past two games, the Sabres have had stellar goaltending.
Craig Anderson earned a shut out last game against the Los Angeles Kings, and now Luukkonen earned a hard-fought win, in which he made 39 saves and was awarded second star honors.
The Sabres have a great defensive corps, but that can't always bail them out of every situation. Sometimes they need their goalies to make that one spectacular save, and Luukkonen made several in this game.
Lukkonen was touted as one of the Sabres' top goalie prospects in years past, and if this style of play continues this season, he could re-gain that title.
3.) Stepping up
Just before puck drop, it was announced that defenseman Owen Power would miss the game due to a minor lower-body injury sustained in warmups. This meant the Sabres would only have five defenseman while taking on the defending Stanley Cup champions.
This seemed to be a daunting task, but the Sabres blue line stood tall with heavy ice time against a tough opponent. Players like Lawrence Pilut stepped up when called upon, and saw significant time on ice in important moments.
Buffalo has been trying to rebuild their culture for a long time, and some of it can stem from moments like this. Players need to depend on their teammates to step up and perform in moments like these, and it only brings a team tighter together.
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The Sabres will travel to Mullett Arena in Arizona on Saturday for the only time this season to take on the Coyotes. Faceoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR with Brian Koziol starting at 8 p.m. EST.
Due to the Buffalo Bills playing on Saturday night against the Miami Dolphins, this game will be available on News Radio 930 WBEN.
