The sucking sound you hear is the wind going out of the Buffalo Sabres sails. Prior to Monday's trade deadline the Sabres posted two convincing wins and went into the break with a solid 7-3-1 record in the month of February which was enough to convince general manager Jason Botterill to reconfigure the roster a bit instead of moving pending UFA's for low-value futures. Anyone and everyone knew that the playoffs were a longshot for Buffalo but to his credit, Botterill rewarded his team for toughing out a difficult season full of inconsistencies by showing some faith in them.
Botterill's two acquisitions at the deadline--forwards Dominik Kahun and Wayne Simmonds--replaced two forwards moved out and were as advertised. Simmonds has had two starts for Buffalo while Kahun made his Sabres debut against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kahun made a quick impression as he scored on his second shift to give the Sabres the lead against Vegas. As for Simmonds, everyone and their brother knows that he's in the latter stages of a strong career and that his production is waning, but he does provide veteran leadership and an on-ice toughness that's sorely been lacking this season.
Botterill knew the odds of making the playoffs were long and it's safe to say the even if he sold the farm to land a true second-line center, the task at hand--make up six points and jump two teams to get to the playoffs--approached near-miracle status, especially as they were set to embark on a four-game road-trip with their first two games post-deadline coming against two of the best teams in the Western Conference. Check that, make it two of the best teams in the west who were on hot streaks.
Buffalo started out the trip with a visit to Colorado, a possible Stanley Cup contender, who were riding a three-game winning streak as part of an 8-2-1 run. The Sabers went toe-to-toe with them but came up short 3-2. Next they headed to Las Vegas to take on a Golden Knights team that looking to tie a franchise-long winning streak of eight games, which they did with a 4-2 win over Buffalo.
Although it's never over until the fat lady sings, the door to her dressing room is open and she's ready to make her way to the stage. The Sabres are in deep trouble with double-digit deficits for both the No. 3 spot in the division and the second wild card spot.
Having said that, Buffalo played two of their best games of the season against Colorado and Vegas and coming up short was more about depth, talent discrepancy and goaltending than it was about anything else. As we head towards the end of the season and a highly likely, NHL-long, ninth consecutive season outside the playoffs, there's a lot to like about the way this Sabres team is developing, the addition of Kahun, and even Simmonds, included. Having them go all out until they're mathematically eliminated is little consolation to Sabreland, but at least it would be a positive step in the right direction.
Tonight's game in Arizona is yet another test of that character. The Coyotes aren't in the same class as Colorado or Vegas but they ain't chopped liver sitting two points out of the second wild card spot in the west.
It's a back-to-back for Buffalo which makes it even harder but, that's life.
February 28
Buffalo-2 Vegas Golden Knights-4
Recently acquired forward Dominik Kahun (PIT) didn't waste any time making his presence know last night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kahun, appearing in his first game as a Buffalo Sabre, took a drop pass from Marcus Johansson and sent a shot top-shelf to put the Sabres up 1-0 just 2:16 into the first period. Great for Kahun and great for the Sabres. Unfortunately they wouldn't score again until Jeff Skinner potted a meaningless goal with just :12 seconds left in Buffalo's 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
One thing you can't do against a division-leading team like Vegas, especially when they entered the game on a seven-game winning streak, is have a breakdown leading to an easy goal. And that's what happened as Henri Jokiharju lost coverage on William Karlsson early in the third period and the Golden Knights went up 2-1. They would tack on another one a little over two minutes later when the entire Buffalo defense had a deer-in-headlights moment as Vegas Reilly Smith went around for a wrap-around that just can't happen if you're Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton. Although it wasn't all on him, as four Sabres defenders were in the slot area looking for a pass and Kahun couldn't cover the back-side.
The Golden Knights would add an empty net goal to make it 4-1 before Skinner bounced a backhand off of former Sabres goalie Robin Lehner for Buffalo's second goal.
Lehner was a difference-maker in his first start for Vegas after they traded for him at the deadline. Buffalo put an ton of pressure on him as they outshot the Golden Knights 34-28 and took more shots (67-49) but got beat where it ultimately matters, on the scoreboard.
Of note: Jack Eichel took faceoffs for the first time since February 18. Head coach Ralph Krueger mentioned lower-body injury.
Botterill's two acquisitions at the deadline--forwards Dominik Kahun and Wayne Simmonds--replaced two forwards moved out and were as advertised. Simmonds has had two starts for Buffalo while Kahun made his Sabres debut against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kahun made a quick impression as he scored on his second shift to give the Sabres the lead against Vegas. As for Simmonds, everyone and their brother knows that he's in the latter stages of a strong career and that his production is waning, but he does provide veteran leadership and an on-ice toughness that's sorely been lacking this season.
Botterill knew the odds of making the playoffs were long and it's safe to say the even if he sold the farm to land a true second-line center, the task at hand--make up six points and jump two teams to get to the playoffs--approached near-miracle status, especially as they were set to embark on a four-game road-trip with their first two games post-deadline coming against two of the best teams in the Western Conference. Check that, make it two of the best teams in the west who were on hot streaks.
Buffalo started out the trip with a visit to Colorado, a possible Stanley Cup contender, who were riding a three-game winning streak as part of an 8-2-1 run. The Sabers went toe-to-toe with them but came up short 3-2. Next they headed to Las Vegas to take on a Golden Knights team that looking to tie a franchise-long winning streak of eight games, which they did with a 4-2 win over Buffalo.
Although it's never over until the fat lady sings, the door to her dressing room is open and she's ready to make her way to the stage. The Sabres are in deep trouble with double-digit deficits for both the No. 3 spot in the division and the second wild card spot.
Having said that, Buffalo played two of their best games of the season against Colorado and Vegas and coming up short was more about depth, talent discrepancy and goaltending than it was about anything else. As we head towards the end of the season and a highly likely, NHL-long, ninth consecutive season outside the playoffs, there's a lot to like about the way this Sabres team is developing, the addition of Kahun, and even Simmonds, included. Having them go all out until they're mathematically eliminated is little consolation to Sabreland, but at least it would be a positive step in the right direction.
Tonight's game in Arizona is yet another test of that character. The Coyotes aren't in the same class as Colorado or Vegas but they ain't chopped liver sitting two points out of the second wild card spot in the west.
It's a back-to-back for Buffalo which makes it even harder but, that's life.
February 28
Buffalo-2 Vegas Golden Knights-4
Recently acquired forward Dominik Kahun (PIT) didn't waste any time making his presence know last night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kahun, appearing in his first game as a Buffalo Sabre, took a drop pass from Marcus Johansson and sent a shot top-shelf to put the Sabres up 1-0 just 2:16 into the first period. Great for Kahun and great for the Sabres. Unfortunately they wouldn't score again until Jeff Skinner potted a meaningless goal with just :12 seconds left in Buffalo's 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
One thing you can't do against a division-leading team like Vegas, especially when they entered the game on a seven-game winning streak, is have a breakdown leading to an easy goal. And that's what happened as Henri Jokiharju lost coverage on William Karlsson early in the third period and the Golden Knights went up 2-1. They would tack on another one a little over two minutes later when the entire Buffalo defense had a deer-in-headlights moment as Vegas Reilly Smith went around for a wrap-around that just can't happen if you're Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton. Although it wasn't all on him, as four Sabres defenders were in the slot area looking for a pass and Kahun couldn't cover the back-side.
The Golden Knights would add an empty net goal to make it 4-1 before Skinner bounced a backhand off of former Sabres goalie Robin Lehner for Buffalo's second goal.
Lehner was a difference-maker in his first start for Vegas after they traded for him at the deadline. Buffalo put an ton of pressure on him as they outshot the Golden Knights 34-28 and took more shots (67-49) but got beat where it ultimately matters, on the scoreboard.
Of note: Jack Eichel took faceoffs for the first time since February 18. Head coach Ralph Krueger mentioned lower-body injury.
February 26
Buffalo-2 Colorado Avalanche-3
Buffalo went toe-to-toe, except in the fancy stats arena, with a Stanley Cup contender in the Colorado Avalanche but came up short as they played possibly their best, most intense game of the season. Colorado was missing some of their key players in Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri and goalie Phillip Grubauer but still had plenty of firepower and received top-notch goaltending from 29 yr. old rookie, Pavel Francouz. Nothing to hang their heads about for Buffalo in this one as they gave it all they had and were it not for a matter of inches, they would have taken the game to overtime as they came close to tying it late in the third period.
The high-octane Avalanche took a bit to get going in the first period but when they did their speed and skill was overwhelming. However, the Sabres managed to hold them without an even-strength goal despite an immense amount of pressure. A powerplay goal just over 14 minutes into the first period for Colorado opened the scoring but the cool part about this edition of the Sabres is that they can fight back, and that's just what they did.
In a first period of a game that had the look and feel of a playoff game, the Sabres got on the scoreboard compliments of, who else, the Johan Larsson line. With a textbook breakout they hit the neutral zone with speed and space. Zemgus Girgensons hit Larsson up the middle who hit Kyle Okposo on the left side at the Avalanche blue line. As they entered the zone Larsson drove to the net and Girgensons got position in the crease and tapped in a sharp pass from Okposo. It was Girgensons' 12th goal of the season and the game was tied less than two minutes after Colorado took the lead.
The second period had the ice severely tilted towards Buffalo as the 'Lanche used their speed to take advantage of the long line-change. But the teams exchanged goals and left for the second period intermission tied 2-2. Colorado scored on the powerplay while Buffalo's Curtis Lazar scored his first goal in 15 games off a tip of a Jake McCabe point shot. Special teams, which have been a thorn in the side of the Sabres all season, was the difference in this one, again, as Colorado went 2/3 on the powerplay and Buffalo 0/2. Giving up two powerplay goals in three opportunities now has Buffalo last in the league on the penalty kill (74%.)
The game-winning goal came at the 11:54 mark of the third period. As a scrum behind the Buffalo net broke apart, the Avalanche retained the puck and the Sabres left a gaping hole in the slot between all five of them. Colin Miller was out of position tracking the puck to one side of the crease leaving his man wide open in the slot. A veteran like him should know better.
Of note:
--Wayne Simmonds played his first game for the Sabres and played his usual physical game which filtered through the rest of the team.
--Jack Eichel hasn't taken a faceoff since the Ottawa Senators game on February 18. The NBCSN cameras caught him wincing in pain in the third period and something ain't right.
The high-octane Avalanche took a bit to get going in the first period but when they did their speed and skill was overwhelming. However, the Sabres managed to hold them without an even-strength goal despite an immense amount of pressure. A powerplay goal just over 14 minutes into the first period for Colorado opened the scoring but the cool part about this edition of the Sabres is that they can fight back, and that's just what they did.
In a first period of a game that had the look and feel of a playoff game, the Sabres got on the scoreboard compliments of, who else, the Johan Larsson line. With a textbook breakout they hit the neutral zone with speed and space. Zemgus Girgensons hit Larsson up the middle who hit Kyle Okposo on the left side at the Avalanche blue line. As they entered the zone Larsson drove to the net and Girgensons got position in the crease and tapped in a sharp pass from Okposo. It was Girgensons' 12th goal of the season and the game was tied less than two minutes after Colorado took the lead.
The second period had the ice severely tilted towards Buffalo as the 'Lanche used their speed to take advantage of the long line-change. But the teams exchanged goals and left for the second period intermission tied 2-2. Colorado scored on the powerplay while Buffalo's Curtis Lazar scored his first goal in 15 games off a tip of a Jake McCabe point shot. Special teams, which have been a thorn in the side of the Sabres all season, was the difference in this one, again, as Colorado went 2/3 on the powerplay and Buffalo 0/2. Giving up two powerplay goals in three opportunities now has Buffalo last in the league on the penalty kill (74%.)
The game-winning goal came at the 11:54 mark of the third period. As a scrum behind the Buffalo net broke apart, the Avalanche retained the puck and the Sabres left a gaping hole in the slot between all five of them. Colin Miller was out of position tracking the puck to one side of the crease leaving his man wide open in the slot. A veteran like him should know better.
Of note:
--Wayne Simmonds played his first game for the Sabres and played his usual physical game which filtered through the rest of the team.
--Jack Eichel hasn't taken a faceoff since the Ottawa Senators game on February 18. The NBCSN cameras caught him wincing in pain in the third period and something ain't right.
--Former Sabres draft pick J.T. Compher scored the game-winner for the Avalanche and also had the primary assist on Colorado's first goal. Compher was drafted in the second round (35th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft and was part of the deal to land Ryan O'Reilly back in 2015. Of all the trades former GM Tim Murray made with all the players and picks changing hands, losing Compher may have hurt the most as he's a solid mid-six, two-way center. Something Buffalo's been missing since O'Reilly was traded.
February 23
Winnipeg Jets-1 Buffalo-2
The previous afternoon in Pittsburgh saw the Sabres put up five goals against the Penguins in a rather dominant 5-2 Buffalo win. Nice work. They came back to Buffalo for a back-to-back matinee against the Winnipeg Jets, a team whose hot start to the month of February had hit a speed bump. Winnipeg started out 7-2-1 (with eight of those games at home) but stumbled a bit in their 4-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers the night before coming to Buffalo.
Winnipeg has speed, skill and size and knows how to play on the road, as evidenced by their 16-12-2 road record before hitting the KeyBank Center ice, and Buffalo would need to account for that. Plus, the Jets were in the thick of a playoff race and the Sabres were starting rookie goaltender Jonas Johansson who was 0-1-1 with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage in two starts and a relief appearance (for Carter Hutton in a blowout at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.)
It would be a tight game, on in which there's usually for hero other than the usual suspects. For the Sabres that hero was Kyle Okposo.
The line of Johan Larsson centering Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons has been the most consistent line for Buffalo dating back to last season and as of late they've been on a bit of a scoring run. That would continue as Okposo scored the Sabres only two goals (with the second one being an absolute snipe, top-shelf) in the 2-1 win against the Jets giving him four in his last four games. Girgensons got the primary assist on both of Okposo's goals giving him a goal and two assists in Buffalo's back-to-back wins over the weekend. In the past four games the trio has combined for six goals, four assists and a +6 rating. Not bad for a bottom-six line mainly responsible for making life difficult for the opposition's top lines and/or flipping the ice.
Outside of that line's effectiveness, probably the most impressive part of Buffalo's win against the Jets was the way they locked it down once they got the go-ahead goal at the 7:47 mark of the third period. From the time Okposo put the Sabres ahead until the end of the game the Sabres allowed a total of two Winnipeg shots with none coming over the final 9:23 of the game and Johansson skated off the ice with his first NHL win.
With the victory the Sabres headed into the trade deadline on a 5-1-0 run a stretch that didn't allow general manager Jason Botterill to give up on the season and become a pure seller. "I think we made Jason's job a little bit more difficult," said Okposo after the Jets game. "That's what our goal was. We like the group that we have in here. We've shown some resiliency that has been missing in the past. It shows that we're turning the page.
"We're looking forward to whatever team that we have on Tuesday (post trade deadline) and going out west and getting some wins."
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