Buffalo ride puck luck and UPL’s saves to win
Score: Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Edmonton Oilers
Shots: BUF 23-34 EDM
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Thompson (32), Tuch (25), Thompson (33)
Edmonton Oilers Goals: Nurse (5), Bouchard (12)
Minus 1: I Love Lamp Post
Edmonton came into this game having won three of their last four, and for having played on Saturday night looked remarkably fresh zipping about the ice in the first period despite being on the Eastern time zone having lost an hour of sleep on Saturday night.
The Oilers probably didn’t realize that when they took to the ice to take on the Sabres wearing their black and red goatheads that they would be facing one of the better defensemen in the league. Often there when Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen isn’t, Post has time and again come to Buffalo’s rescue. In the first period alone tonight Post stepped up with three big stops. To be fair, UPL did make the saves he needed to as well to keep Edmonton off the board early on.
The visitors clanged another one off the post in the third period as well to make it four for the night.
Plus 1: Solving Skinner (The Other One)
The Sabres are one of the best teams in the league in the first period, and made it count again tonight. After seeing off the Oilers’ early surge, they started to assert themselves with Tage Thompson coming up big. The Buffalo forward nicked the puck off Arvidsson on his own blue line and then dipped and dangled his way into the offensive zone before letting off a shot that Skinner struggled to gather. #72 isn’t often credited for showing a physical side to his game, but he fought his way through two defensemen to get to the juicy rebound first which he then slammed into the roof of the net to make it 1-0 to the Sabres.
Buffalo saw out the rest of the period in the ascendancy with Greenway and Tuch also missing chances to add to the lead. The hosts had the Corsi advantage at the first break leading 22-17 and just behind on the expected goals (0.95 to 1.02) even though the Oilers had more shots at 11-8.
Minus 2: Shortchanged on the Long Change
Lindy Ruff has already had to address this a couple of times this season, but the Sabres always seem more susceptible in second periods of games when they have the longer change.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Thompson lost the puck in his zone and Peterka, not renown for his defensive work, found himself caught in two minds and left Nurse all alone for the slapshot that beat a screened UPL to level the scores.
However, Tuch scored his tenth in the last fifteen games to restore the Sabres advantage after great work from McLeod before the Buffalo penalty kill gave up another special teams goal to make it 2-2, this time Bouchard the recipient of the Sabres’ largesse. Draisatl won the faceoff at the left dot and fed McDavid behind him, with the star forward having all the time in the world to pick out the Oilers’ dman to slam home.
With the two conceded and one scored in the second, Buffalo are tied worst with the Flyers in the league in goal differential in the middle stanza at a whopping minus 23.
Plus 2: Strong Third Period Effort
While the Sabres have often given up leads in games this season, tonight not only did they snatch the lead in the third period, they also held on. The Oilers dominated the shots at 12-8 in the final period, with a Corsi advantage of 25-12, but the Sabres did enough to end their six-game losing streak tonight.
Credit new boy Josh Norris for the winner tonight. While he might have looked utterly miserable in his Buffalo debut as they were busy getting steamrolled by the Florida Panthers, Norris looked a lot more at home tonight. He chased down Bouchard and nicked the puck off the Oilers man before centering to Thompson to tuck home early in the third.
Despite incredible pressure from the Oilers, the Sabres held firm and Norris should have had a second assist too but Skinner robbed Tuch after a great pass from the new Sabres forward. For the record, Dylan Cozens scored the game-winner for the Ottawa Senators against the Detroit Red Wings so had Norris not laid on the assist on Thompson’s winner tonight, you know there would have been some tongues wagging.
Final Thoughts
This was a good bounce-back game after that hiding against the Panthers. Can’t really say too much more than that given that we’re one of the leading candidates in the ‘Tankathon’.
Next up for Buffalo is a trip to Motor City to take on Detroit.