| Buffalo Sabres vs New Jersey Devils | ||||
| Team | P1 | P2 | P3 | Total |
 Buffalo Sabres | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
 New Jersey Devils | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Current Status: Final | ||||
Buffalo take advantage of wildcard opponents slipping up
Score: Buffalo Sabres 5-2 New Jersey Devils
Shots: BUF 36-30 NJD
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Thompson (23, 24, 25, 26 EN), Peterka (26 EN)
New Jersey Devils Goals: Willman (3), Bratt (24)
Minus 1: Another Bad Start
After the utter humiliation against the Ottawa Senators and then most of the Sabres wildcard opponents losing on Thursday night, you would have thought Buffalo would have come out in their own barn fired up against the Devils, another team that sits ahead of them in the standings.
Not these Sabres though, nope.
I don’t like picking on individual players, especially when the malaise seems team-wide, but if there is anything that characterizes this season’s team, it’s Owen Power’s general lackadaisical attitude when the opponent has the puck in and around the net. His half-hearted no-look backhanded pass in his own zone allowed Luke Hughes and Chris Tierney to corral the puck and set up Max Willman’s opener just three minutes in.
And then another comedy of errors as he over-pursues his man up the left wall, remembers to return to his position as the puck is being held behind the goal, and then instead of tying up someone in the slot, he drifts aimlessly behind (late) and Nico Hischier gratefully bring out the puck for Jesper Bratt to slam it home. Like, what are you even doing man?!
Plus 1: Nothing Like a Comfortable Pair of Levi’s
Devon Levi got the start and after giving up two goals in four shots, the home fans would have been well within their rights to expect another first period shellacking like Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got against the Sens when he let in four goals in eight shots on Wednesday night.
However the youngster bucked up and tightened things down from that point on, including some stellar stops in the end of the first period as the Devils looked to extend their advantage, again with the score at 2-1 when he stopped Bratt on a breakaway, and then towards the end of the game when the visitors went empty-net looking to tie things up.
The Sabres’ poor starts are right up there with the inept power play when you look at why we will likely not be making the postseason this year, and the team as a whole needs to do more to help their goalies get decent starts and bed in.
Meanwhile, it is good to see Levi playing somewhat meaningful minutes and doing well after his struggles earlier on in the season. And the confidence with which he played this fake.. <chef’s kiss>
Plus 2: The Tage Show
By the standards he set last season, Tage Thompson was always going to have a hard time matching up this year. Between his injury issues and slumping form, it’s been doubly difficult for the Sabres to sustain any kind of streak – remember, Buffalo hadn’t even strung together two or more wins in a row until well into this season.
That said, last night we saw some of the laser-guided precision shooting that we’d gotten used to last season. His four goals were all different, but highlighted different things that he does so well.
Goal 1 – Thompson skating on the backcheck, jumps on an errant deflected pass that he gloves down, skates into the offensive zone and unleashes a seemingly innocuous wrister from the left dot that has enough venom to give veteran Jake Allen the heebie-jeebies and goes in off his glove.
Goal 2 – Alex Tuch does not get enough credit for his forechecking, but he created this one, jumping on another misplaced pass by the Devils, and setting up Tage steaming down the middle to let off another wrister that has all the juice of a slapshot into the top shelf where – RIP RJ, we miss you – mama hides them delish cookies.
Goal 3 – With less than five minutes left to play in a tied game, Tage does the dirty work and gets the goal he deserves for it. Thompson went into the middle and got his stick to a Dahlin shot from the blue line, messing up Allen’s sightline and as the goalie fumbled the puck, the Sabres’ #72 reacted quicker to tuck the puck home for his hattie.
Goal 4 – After a JJ Peterka empty-netter had pretty much sealed the win, Levi did well to make a save on the short side that Henri Jokiharju then cleared around the wall, and with a Devils player falling on the legendary choppy KBC ice, it left Tage with a walk-in empty-netter to make it his fourth of the night. Levi should have had an assist on that one.
Four goals for Tage Thompson then, and he is in some hallowed company here for sure.
Final Thoughts
Credit to the Sabres I suppose for digging themselves out of a hole they didn’t need to put themselves in to begin with. But with most of their direct rivals in the wildcard race losing on Thursday night, a defeat to the Devils would have been one of those nails in the coffin that we often talk about.
Still, they did get the win, and got two much-needed points while not giving the Devils anything. The Flyers are slumping and the Capitals will likely overhaul them. The Red Wings and Islanders are also feeling the effects of playing high-stress hockey. The season isn’t quite over yet and the Sabres chances of making the playoffs remain miniscule, but as our friend Ace Ventura Lloyd Christmas said, there’s still a chance.