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Late power play sinks Sabres perfect April record

Blue Jackets 3 – Sabres 2 Captain Dahlin scored his 16th goal and 48th assist of the season as Buffalo took and lost the dreaded 2-0 lead before Columbus tied the game and then a third period power play provided the opportunity the Blue Jackets required to win at home.

Rangers 9 – Islanders 2 December 2nd, 1995, goaltender Roy is shelled and has nine goals scored on him by Detroit before his head coach pulled him…goaltender Roy was so upset he demanded to be traded after that. Curios that Islanders Head Coach Roy in a de ja vu moment did not relive his goaltender until eight goals were scored on his netminder…will New York goaltender Hogberg similarly be upset with HC Roy and demand to be traded?

Blackhawks 5 – Bruins 2 (en) Chicago took only four shots on goal during the third period and scored on every one of them with the last goal being scored shorthanded into the empty net.

Panthers 4 – Red Wings 1 Florida finally beats Detroit in their third attempt this season as the defending Cup Champions get another goal from newly acquired Bruins Center Marchand.

Capitals 5 – Hurricanes 4 (SO) Washington had another celebratory event for Captain Ovechkin before the game, alas he did not score but his team clinches first place in the Eastern Conference with the win.

Jets 4 – Stars 0 Winnipeg played a physical game and goaltender Hellebuyck was perfect stopping all 25 shots Dallas put on net in a divisional game between playoff seeded teams.

Canucks 4 – Avalanche 1 (en) The playoff eliminated Canucks sweep the three game regular season series with the playoff bound Avalanche contributing to Vancouver’s strong road record.

Predators 4 – Hockey Club 3 (SO) Utah is 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, their regular season record is (36-30-13) six games over 500%, and they win as many on the road as they do at home, but still not good enough to get invited to the playoffs as Nashville scored the only goal in the shootout.

Knights 2 – Kraken 1 Nevada wins the rubber match and the three game regular season series 2-1…barely, as Seattle out hit, out blocked, and outshot the Knights in the third period but could not get the equalizer.

Kings 6 – Ducks 1 Roast duck was on the menu last night in Los Angeles as the Kings easily dispose of the playoff eliminated Ducks and win three of the four meetings this season between these California competitors.

Three games all 4-3, two other games with winners scoring eight goals

Wild 8 – Sharks 7 (OT) Not a game for Minnesota fans who are faint of heart, Rookie Macklin Celebrini scored his first Hat Trick and now owns the San Jose record for points (24 G & 38 A, and counting) by a rookie. Not to be outdone, Minnesota’s Center Eriksson Ek scored four goals in this barnburner that ended in the Wild’s favor.

Flyers 8 – Rangers 5 (en x2) New York is fading fast, lost their last three, had two empty net goals scored against them and are no closer to the last wild card seeding in the Eastern Conference.

Maple Leafs 4 – Lightning 3 (OT) Toronto has swept the regular season four game series with Tampa Bay and never were behind last night as the Lightning used the power play to force overtime, but it was Maple Leafs standouts Center Matthews, RW Marner, and LW Knies who carried the day.

Ducks 4 – Flames 3 (OT) Playoff eliminated Anaheim beat Calgary for the first time this season and it could not have come at a worse time for the Flames who have two games in hand on the last wild card team in the Western Conference but are five points out.

Oilers 4 – Blues 3 St Louis did everything they could, won over 60% of faceoffs, out hit, out blocked, and had less penalty minutes, but the red-hot Blues were snuffed out by none other than the returning Center McDavid whose three assists help propel the Oilers over the Blues.

How Could This Happen Department

Two nights ago, Vancouver beat Dallas 6-5 in overtime, it was the only time I ever seen a team score an empty net goal and lose the game, incredibly the Stars were up 5-2 after scoring the empty net goal with just 2:21 minutes remaining in the game.

Perfect month continues…

Sabres 3 – Hurricanes 0 Buffalo has won eight of its last nine games, goaltender Reimer recorded his first shutout (31 career shutouts) for the Sabres last night as well as a personal consecutive win (7) streak.

Alas, Montreal beat Detroit last night which mathematically eliminates Buffalo from playoff contention this season, but the way our boys are playing now there is hope Lindy has the Sabres skating in the right direction.

And now for the 14th year in a row I look forward to the Sabres earning a playoff seeding, this time for the 2025-26 NHL season and this is not just regular hope but a real premonition of future success for Buffalo next season.

Buffalo won seven consecutive home games for the first time in 25 seasons, not since Halloween 1999 until near Thanksgiving that year have the Sabres won seven in a row at home, thanks in part to our Red & Black Brawny sweaters.

Buffalo won their season high fifth straight game as Center Thompson scored (44) for the fifth consecutive game, RW Tuch scored (34) his sixth shorthanded goal giving Buffalo nine on the season so far, and the Sabres scored twice on just five SOG during the second period.

Buffalo begins their final road trip with a three-game swing through Ohio and Florida, starting with the Blue Jackets Thursday night at 7 pm, Panthers on Saturday then finishing up Sunday with the Lightning.

Last week’s answer: Trick question, each man served as Head Coach at one point during the 1970s.

The Buffalo Sabres had 34 players that had played at least one game during their inaugural 1970-71 NHL season and only one of them was born in the United States of America.

Which one of these four Buffalo Sabres is a native of New York City?

A) Tracy Pratt

B) Jim Watson

C) Brian Perry

D) Mike McMahon

Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Seattle, and Calgary

Jets 3 – Blues 1 (en) The number one team in the NHL hosted the hottest team in the NHL in a low shooting, low scoring, tightly contested game where each team failed to score on the power play, and ultimately the goaltenders were in charge.

Lightning 5 – Rangers 1 (en) Tampa Bay took less than two minutes to score three times in the first period and goaltender Vasilevskiy allowed one goal on 39 SOG, and the Rangers took 32 SOG in the first two periods and could only score once.

Ducks 3 – Oilers 2 In the spoiler role, the playoff eliminated Ducks beat the Pacific Division third place team Oilers who are sitting comfortably above the wild card line with games in hand.

Kraken 2 – Kings 1 Seattle severely out blocked Los Angeles 30-10 and stopped all three of the Kings power plays as both teams score only in the first period and the eliminated Kraken beat the Kings for the second time this season.

Flames 3 – Sharks 2 San Jose held a one nothing lead from the first period until near halfway through the third period when Calgary scored twice in two minutes for the 2-1 lead added another four and half minutes later for the solid 3-1 lead with less than five minutes in the game.

AROUND THE LEAGUE TONIGHT