Score: Sabres 5 | Flyers 3
Shots: Sabres 40 | Flyers 35
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Olofsson (19, 20), Bjork (5), Thompson (35, 36)
Philadelphia Flyers Goals: Hayes (9), Cates (3), MacEwen (3)
Plus-1: Olofsson’s Resurgence
Victor Olofsson has really stepped up as of late and has become a reliable, skilled forward. If he’s in the right spot on the ice and he gets the puck, he’s going to score 9 out of 10 times. Just get him in the right spot, and go from there. The Flyers didn’t attack Olofsson at all or force him out of position, and he was able to capitalize twice in Sunday’s win.
He’s scored 13 (of his 20) goals since March 1.
Plus-2: Tokarski Comes Up Big
Just as Craig Anderson came up big when he needed to on Saturday night, Dustin Tokarski made some important saves in Sunday’s game to help keep the Sabres in it. When Buffalo held a one-goal lead, Tokarski was the difference-maker.
Something to Improve: The 60-Minute Effort
Sunday’s game didn’t start off strong yet again for the Sabres. The Flyers scored just 1:16 in – remember, they’d scored early on Saturday too – and outshot Buffalo 17- 10 in the first period. You shouldn’t be letting your opponent put 17 shots on goal in a single period. That’s not great defense and puts your goaltender – already a weaker spot for the Sabres – in a tough position. Things evened out as the game went on, but it’s something to be mindful of going forward.
Final Thoughts
Tage Thompson just hit the 36-goal mark, which is just incredible when you consider that his previous career-high for goals in a single season was eight. Yes, eight.
While in a sense many people will be happy to see this season come to an end, considering playoffs haven’t been in the question for sometime, it’s also been quite enjoyable lately to watch this team coming together. There are a lot of promising young pieces and seemingly lots to look forward to in the future.
Only four regular season games remain for the Sabres:
- Thursday, April 21 @ New Jersey Devils
- Saturday, April 23 vs. New York Islanders
- Thursday, April 28 @ Boston Bruins
- Friday, April 29 vs. Chicago Blackhawks/