Buffalo Stymied by Capitals Goaltender
Sabres 1 – Capitals 2 Sabres (C) Carrick opened the game’s scoring with his second goal in four games after coming to Buffalo, but Washington (G) Lindgren stopped 29 of 30 Buffalo SOG ensuring the visitors a win.
Now the Sabres can begin their third eight-game winning streak tomorrow, Saturday night 7 pm EST at home versus the Toronto Maple Leafs before embarking on a four-game western road trip through Nevada into California.
8th Consecutive Victory
Sabres 6 – Sharks 3 Sabres Captain (D) Dahlin with (C) McLeod each earning three assists, Sabres (RW) Quinn earned his first NHL hat trick and an assist, as Buffalo increased its division lead to four points over Tampa Bay, this is the first time in Buffalo Sabres history that they have had multiple 8 game winning steaks during one season.
When the Sharks (C) Celebrini scored to cut the score to 2-1 it was his 90th point so far this season, ranking him behind only teenagers Gretzky & Crosby in how fast it took a teenager to reach this plateau.
Then there was the violence, first the newcomer (D) Stanley fought one of his former Western Conference foes five and a half minutes into the first period, then Sabres (LW) Malentsyn pasted Sharks Golden Child (C) Celebrini with a check along the boards that planted the teenager on his keester, of course a fight ensued which is what happens when you flatten your opponent’s superstar.
Four minutes into the second period San Jose (D) Orlov took a cheap shot diving at Sabres (C) Thompson’s legs taken him down causing an uncomfortable flip to the ice which brought Sabres (LW) Benson over and he literally jumped on and put the Sharks player in a head lock removing his helmet, Sabres (C) Thompson got up uninjured and assisted his teammate who stood up for him ultimately giving the Sharks a power play.
A minute after those penalties were handed out Sabres (LW) Malenstyn skated through two San Jose defenders to get in on the Sharks goaltender and scored putting Buffalo up 3-1, four minutes later Sabres (LW) Zucker scored his 20th of the season giving Buffalo the 4-1 lead.
During the third period Sabres (RW) Quinn scored his third goal complements of his linemates (LW) Zucker and (C) McLeod who unselfishly dangled and passed enough during an empty net to ensure their teammate was able to get his first career NHL hat trick and the 6-3 score which Buffalo defended for the game’s final few minutes.
Tomorrow, Thursday night at seven o’clock EST, the Atlantic Division leading Buffalo Sabres (86 points) host the Metropolitan Division’s fifth place Washington Capitals (71 points) a team that is six games over 500% with a positive 12 goal differential but are not even close to being on the playoff bubble.
Goals & Fights
Sabres 8 – Lightning 7 If goal production and pugilism are your thing then last night’s game was tailored specifically for you, and then some.
During the first period Buffalo on the power play scored the game’s first goal, while having to thwart an overly physical and dirty Tampa Bay “Charlestown Chiefs” team, both teams combined for 70 PIMS during the first period of play, 33 Sabres penalties and 37 penalties for the Lightning causing the first period to take nearly an hour to complete.
The second period began with two fights as soon as the puck was dropped one right after another and during the second match Sabres (LW) Malenstyn put Lightning (RW) Perry down to the ice with a “body shot” that was reminiscent of Bruce Lee all the while the sell-out home crowd was on its feet cheering lustily.
Unfortunately, the goon style of play did not end as another Lightning player jumped on our Captain (D) Dahlin punching him in the head multiple times only a couple of minutes after the first two fights, eventually the Sabres took a 4-1 lead the results of Sabres (RW) Tuch scoring shorthanded making Buffalo the number one shorthanded scoring team in the NHL with 10 goals on the season, the period quickly fell into a 4-4 tie before heading into the third period.
The third period was unbelievable as the Lightning scored twice to take the 6-4 lead in the first six minutes but 20 seconds after Tampa Bay scored their sixth goal, Sabres newest addition (C) Carrick who only played 10 shifts for six minutes scored a goal to get Buffalo within one goal 6-5, he also accumulated three shots, three hits, and one take away while having a fight, and winning seven out of nine faceoffs for Buffalo.
The three Lightning goons that should have been ejected earlier in the game combined for Tampa Bay’s seventh goal taking the 7-5 lead but one minute and 15 seconds after that goal Sabres Captain (D) Dahlin scored putting Buffalo back within one goal then a few minutes later (LW) Zucker scored his 16th assisted by a beautiful setup from (C) McLeod to tie the game at seven.
Tampa Bay and former Buffalo (C) Girgensons earned a slashing penalty at the 15:03 mark of the third period affording Sabres (RW) Doan the opportunity to score his second (20th, 21st) goal of the game forty seconds into the power play giving Buffalo the 8-7 lead with four minutes and 17 seconds remaining in the game that the Sabres gloriously killed off.
Currently sitting atop of the Eastern Division, the Sabres will host the San Jose Sharks led by their young standout (C) Macklin Celebrini during game three of this current five-game homestand this Tuesday night 7 pm EST here along the Lake.
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Sabres Win Fifth in a Row
Sabres 5 – Penguins 1 (en) Buffalo scored two short-handed, one power play, one even strength, and one empty net goal to beat their Eastern Conference nemesis Penguins in Pittsburgh.
This game was not without controversy as Pittsburgh’s (C) Malkin who played only six shifts and only 38 seconds into the second period was booted out of the game for his two-handed chop with his stick against Sabres Captain (D) Dahlin head/neck resulting in a five-minute Buffalo power play.
Evgeni Malkin gets game misconduct for slashing Rasmus Dahlin | ESPN NHL – YouTube
The ensuing five-minute power play produced the Sabres second goal as Buffalo (C) Norris scored when Pittsburgh’s (D) Letang was pushing Sabres (RW) Doan into his goaltender before the puck reached the Sabres center and the Pittsburgh Head Coach unsuccessfully used his coach’s challenge to prevent the score.
It took just about two minutes before Buffalo scored again with their second short-handed goal as Sabres (D) Power launched a shot from near the blue line and Sabres (RW) Tuch tipped the shot into the net for the 3-1 lead and less than four minutes later Sabres (D) Power also scored giving the Sabres a 4-1 lead they took into the third period.
The icing on the rink was watching Sabres (D) Samuelsson turning and whipping a shot from his right faceoff circle that rolled all the way down the ice into the Pittsburgh empty net for the 5-1 lead with approximately four minutes remaining in the game.
Buffalo’s (C) McLeod scored the game’s first goal shorthanded his fifth of the season which leads the NHL, the Sabres are now 27-4-1 when scoring first, Buffalo penalty killers stopped all five Penguins power plays, and the Sabres nearly won 60% of all faceoffs, a solid road victory before returning home for a five-game homestand beginning this Saturday afternoon at 5:30 pm EST versus the Nashville Predators.
Gold Medalists Honored
Sabres 3 – Knights 2 Buffalo is now 26-4-1 when scoring the game’s first goal, and Buffalo (LW) Zucker scored his 16th of the year to put the Sabres ahead 1-0 four minutes into the first period, Sabres (D) Power scored just 46 seconds into the second period and five minutes after that Sabres Gold Medalist (C) Thompson scored his 33rd or the season giving Buffalo the 3-0 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the second period when all of a sudden the Knights score twice in approximately two minutes climbing within one goal of Buffalo.
But all for naught, as Buffalo held sin city to 6 SOG during the third period and Sabres (G) Lyon rebuked the Knights half a dozen SOG to preserve the first win in the two game regular season series between these two teams which resumes March 17th in Nevada for game two.
The Buffalo Sabres travel to Pennsylvania to play the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night 7 pm EST, then return home to settle in for a five-game home stand beginning this Saturday afternoon at 5:30 pm EST versus the Nashville Predators.
Buffalo Winter 