Author: Buffalo Winter

Another OT point earned

Sabres 3 – Bluejackets 4 (OT) The game was decided when the officials whistled a phantom penalty against (RW) Tuch who was penalized for interference when replays highlight there was no interference, it was Columbus’ only power play.

Everything was not going well in the first period as Buffalo was outshot and fell behind 1-0 but the Sabres took it to another level scoring twice to take the 2-1 lead in the second period and then with 40 seconds remaining in the period a referee sees an infraction that was not committed affording Columbus an opportunity that they took full advantage of to tie the score at two.

The third period started great as the Sabres took less than three minutes into the period to score (It was (C) Dunne’s first NHL goal) and take the 3-2 lead, unfortunately the Bluejackets tied the game, and Buffalo let a second consecutive overtime game slip through their gloves.

Buffalo travels to Boston for a 7 pm game tomorrow night that closes out the 2025/26 October schedule with an opportunity to earn a winning record with a victory over their division rivals.

ESPN FHL Detroit Pro H2H

Here along the Lake Weekly matchup #3 is in the books, and I am now 2-1 with another ridiculous playoff probability percentage of 6%, how they come up with these numbers I have no idea.

I made a couple of significant transactions, mainly dropping rookie (D) Zeev Buium because the Wild are struggling at 3-5-2 a big dip for the number one wild card from last season. Additionally, you can see that after the two-day waiver wire wait Zach’s Honorable Team picked the rookie up, it is possible (D) Buium will still perform well enough for fantasy points.

This morning, I took (C) Cozens, the “Workhorse from Whitehorse”, off my watch list because it appears he is on pace to earn another 30-goal season, scoring six goals in the first nine games for Ottawa.

Some players I am keeping an eye on with my watch list, players that either earn blocks, score goals, or have a 2.0 or higher fantasy point average.

Negative Netminders

It is a solid strategy to select only one goaltender from any team, otherwise you will always have a player that will never be able to contribute points.

Another example is having four goaltenders on your roster, and knowing only two goaltenders can play on any given day, you would be carrying two players on your roster that will never be able to contribute points.

Buffalo bested in overtime

Sabres 3 – Maple Leafs 4 (OT) The Sabres overall played well except for goaltending, a dismal .818% save percentage by (G) Luukkonen who let in four goals on just 22 SOG and was burned easily on Toronto’s first shot 88 seconds into overtime that lost the game for Buffalo.

Sabres (C) Thompson scored twice, once on the power play, Buffalo killed off all three penalties, had one goal taken away because of goaltender interference,(RW) Tuch standing up for a teammate that was cheaply cross checked earned a 10-minute misconduct for instigating the fight, (D) Byram scored his first goal of the season, and (D) Timmins recorded another three blocks.

The Sabres are 4-4-1 and get a well-deserved break until Tuesday when Buffalo hosts Columbus at 6:45 pm.

Buffalo Bests Toronto

Sabres 5 – Maple Leafs 3 Buffalo is now in third place in their division after beating Toronto at home last night in a game where Sabres wore their brawny black & red sweaters for the first time this season and (D) Samuelsson scored twice, (RW) Tuch scored shorthanded, and (G) Lyon once again posted another solid .900% save percentage.

The only negative was Sabres (C) Kozak sustained an upper body injury after only three shifts and will not play this afternoon, it will be interesting to see who gets the call up from Rochester.

Game two of Buffalo’s home-and-home series with Toronto begins at 5 pm today to accommodate Toronto’s two major league teams, hockey and baseball, both playing in downtown Toronto today.

Two games remain for Buffalo in October after today’s contest, home versus the Bluejackets on the 28th then on the road on the 30th to visit division rival Bruins.

Buffalo netminder wins NHL debut

Sabres 4 – Red Wings 2 Buffalo set a quick pace and pressured Detroit all first period, at one point the Red Wings had twice as many icings (6-3) as they did shots on goal and did not register their first SOG until shortly after the midway point of the first period.

After completely outshooting the visitors in the first period, Buffalo continued to put pucks on the net and scored twice in the second period for the 2-1 lead but watched Detroit tie the game late in the period.

Buffalo took the 3-2 lead four minutes into the third period and four minutes after that scored again to double up on Detroit 4-2, for the game Buffalo killed off both Red Wings’ penalties, newcomer (G) Colton Ellis stopped two Detroit break aways cold, and (RW) Quinn scored on the power play.

Goaltending Bonanza

Goaltenders UPL (conditioning) and Levi (excluded) are in Rochester while Lyon and Ellis sit on the nest in Buffalo, which begs the question who will eventually be the Sabres starting and backup goaltenders?