Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Stands on His Head in a 3-1 Victory Over the Penguins.
Score: Sabres 3 | Penguins 1
Shots: BUF 32 | PIT 41
Buffalo Sabres Goals: | Alex Tuch (10), Zemgus Girgensons (3), Rasmus Dahlin (12)
Pittsburgh Penguins Goals: Rickard Rikell (4-PPG)
Plus 1: Weathering the Storm
Throughout the game, the Penguins had several series of energy bursts that put the Sabres on their toes for minutes at a time. The well-oiled machine of seasoned veterans on the opposing side was hemming Buffalo into their zone, generating numerous quality scoring chances. While this is an occurrence that must be quite familiar to the Sabres roster (and their fans), today’s game presented a different result from the season-long narrative of caving under pressure.
Instead, Buffalo demonstrated urgency in the defensive zone, weathering the heavy attack from Pittsburgh. Blocks, diving, and active sticks were present throughout the entire game, perhaps overshadowed by UPL’s stellar play.
Exemplifying this effort was Casey Mittlstadt in the final minutes of the game, getting his stick in the lane to deflect a back door pass that would have forced UPL to make an outstanding save or pass the puck to center ice with the game tied. Moreover, the Sabres only allowed 3 high-danger chances the entire game.
From a total of 63 shot attempts at 5v5, only allowing 3 high-danger shots is a significant demonstration of the urgency to collapse down low and protect the front of the net. For a team that has given up the 10th most high-danger chances this season, to even start to think about the possibility of the playoffs, the Sabres will need to continue this level of desperation as they near the second half of the season.
Plus 2: Grinding to a Win
Allowing 41 shots against is never a positive. But, if you only allow 1 goal against, then there is some positivity to the final result. Similarly, failing to hold on to a lead in the third period is never a positive unless you’re able to grind your way back to victory. Luckily, that’s exactly what the Sabres did last night. Their 4th line had one of their most productive games of the season, on and off the scoreboard.
They finally got rewarded when Zegmus Girgensons scored with 4:38 left on the clock. Grinding the puck below the net, getting shots from the point, and wacking at loose pucks in front of the net was and will be the answer for a lot of the success the Sabres have the rest of the season. In these close games that are typically the deciding factor of a playoff appearance, finding ways to win even when their performance doesn’t necessarily deserve the 2 points is crucial.
Minus 1: Severely Outplayed
While a win is a win, there will be very few other games where the Sabres win when they are outplayed to that extent. Buffalo produced 39 low-danger shot attempts, 6 medium-danger shot attempts and only 1 high-danger shot attempt, all at 5v5. In comparison, Pittsburgh totaled 45 low-danger shot attempts, 15 medium-danger shot attempts, and 3 high-danger shot attempts, all at 5v5. Here is a visual of these chances, provided by moneypuck.com:
The size of the circle represents the magnitude of the chance, depending on a number of different variables, which can be found on their website. From this visual representation, you can see the area right between the faceoff circles in Buffalo’s defensive zone is much more filled with scoring chances, whereas Pittburgh’s defensive zone looks quite barren in comparison.
Considering that UPL posted a 2.87 goals saved above expected, that game arguably should have gone the other way, especially due to the inconsistency that has been an unfortunate storyline for the Sabres this season. Perhaps this is a sign of a change moving into 2024 with back-to-back strong performances from the young Sabres’ netminders. Regardless, there is no doubt that allowing 41 shots on goal will result in more Ws than Ls in the long run.
Next up, the Sabres head home, to host the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. at KeyBank Center.
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