The Buffalo Sabres played an effective, methodical game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night and it led to a 1-0 victory and Jhonas Enroth’s first shutout of the season. Enroth made 34 saves in the shutout and his comments after the game made it sound like he could stop 50. “This was actually one of my easier games. Everything was pretty controlled and I put myself in a good position and was pretty sharp all the way through.”
The Sabres lone goal of the game came on the power play in the third period. Zemgus Girgensons won a puck battle along the boards and fed the puck to Matt Moulson behind the net. Moulson quickly found Ennis who was in front of the net and Ennis had his eighth goal of the season.
This game though was about playing a methodical style of hockey that relied on goaltending. The Kings were held to just eight shots in the first period and the Sabres leaned back on the defense as the Kings continued to widen the shot differential throughout the game. The Kings finished the game outshooting the Sabres 34-16, which has been status quo for the Sabres most of the season.
This win now means that Edmonton and Carolina have a three point cushion in the McEichel Standings.
Three Questions Answered
1.) Will the Sabres be able to continue their success against the Kings?
The Sabres are now 12-1-1 in their last 14 home games against the Kings. The lone win for Los Angeles in that stretch came on February 21, 2003.
2.) Will Enroth continue his strong play?
A 34 save shutout is about as strong of a game that a goaltender can have.
3.) Will the Kings big guns embarrass the Sabres?
Anze Kopitar finished the game with two shots. In his return, Marian Gaborik had three shots, and the 70’s line of Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, and Tyler Toffoli accounted for nine shots but none found the scoresheet.
Comment of the Night
I hope I’m not dreaming (or hallucinating)
The Sabres just had an aggressive penalty kill, are finishing their checks, having excellent goaltending and playing as though this is not the second time they’ve ever played the game. A fun game to watch.
– tarotsujimoto