“Expect to win.”
That’s the mantra of the season, right? That’s the sign that hangs outside the locker room on road trips, right? That’s the thing that playoff teams have engrained into their DNA, right?
Well if I told you the Sabres would be up 3-0 in the third period, you’d “expect to win,” right?
Well, as much as we’d like to say they did just that, the Sabres ended up blowing their 3-0 lead and losing tonight to the Flyers 4-3 in a shootout.
The first period saw the Sabres come out strong, trying to take advantage of a tried Flyers team. The first ten minutes was dominated by Buffalo, but after a failed power play chance halfway through the first, the Flyers took control of the rest of the first period, forcing Anders Nilsson to be on top of his game thanks to a couple of dangerous chances.
The second period was dominant for Buffalo, scoring three goals, two from Matt Moulson on the power play, and shutting down the Flyers. All was going well, until it wasn’t.
Three power plays in the third period resulted in three Flyers goals as the Sabres imploded. They were outshot 41-25 in the game, against a team that played last night, and simply couldn’t stop the Flyers attack in the third period or overtime.
Speaking of overtime, the Sabres strategy seemed to revolve around passing back to Anders Nilsson, who played very well tonight, instead of going forward. It was an inexplicable plan, and one that resulted in the team’s third straight loss.
“Expect to win.” Please let me know when we’re going to start.
Three Questions
1. How will Anders Nilsson look in his Sabres debut?
Nilsson looked very good tonight, making a few excellent saves among his 38. Tonight’s loss wasn’t his fault.
2. Will Sam Reinhart’s move back to center help spark the offense?
Ennis scored tonight, and Girgensons assisted, but aside from that, the Reinhart line didn’t scratch the score sheet tonight. Samson had just two shots on goal.
3. Who will win the second period?
The Sabres did but lolololololololololol
Comment of the Game
Remind me again
who are we tanking for this year?
by go_buff
Highlights
Coming soon.