The Buffalo Sabres finished up a four-game West Coast swing going 3-0-1, with two impressive shutouts thrown in for good measure too.
Honorable Mentions
Rasmus Dahlin
The captain led from the front this week, and easily deserved to be Player of the Week, with 2G and 3A for 5 pts, going +6 on 22:38 per night. Four of those points came at even strength which should tell you how much the Swede drives play for the Sabres.
Ukko Pekka Luukkonen
UPL continued to play at a high level this week, picking up a shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights and then stymieing the Los Angeles Kings on the road, finishing up with a .982 save percentage and 0.5 GAA.
Sam Carrick
A shout-out also to the fourth line center who as a trade deadline addition didn’t turn too many heads, but since joining the Sabres has made himself indispensable on what was a pretty good line for Buffalo. He’s been winning key faceoffs, somehow adding energy and physicality to a line that contains wrecking ball Beck Malenstyn and scoring some key goals, including three this week.
Player of the Week
This week’s award goes to the one and only Tasmanian Devil, bowling ball, Buffalo Benny, and any other nickname you want to give the diminutive ball of hockey hate known as Zach Benson. Bouncing between the top and the fourth lines, Benny matched the captain’s output this week with five points from two goals and three assists, including taking a big hit at the boards to spring the aforementioned Carrick for one of his goals against the Kings. He had three takeaways, two hits and one empty-netter on a road trip week, and really should have had the comeback winner last night against the Anaheim Ducks but the Sabres were unable to hold on to their late lead.
The Sabres’ fourth line has been incredible on puck possession, with Malenstyn, Carrick and Benson 1-2-3 in SAT% on this road trip, with Benny’s 55.8% tied with PDO God Zach Metsa.