Clifton’s first of the season is the game-winner.
Score: Sabres 2, Blue Jackets 1
Shots: BUF: 37 CBJ: 26
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Zemgus Girgensons (6), Connor Clifton (1)
Columbus Blue Jackets Goals: Dmitri Voronkov (15)
Plus 1: Girgensons, Clifton Scoring
Zemgus Girgensons quietly has goals in back-to-back games, and look at Connor Clifton scoring his first of the season – and first as a member of the Sabres! While you’d certainly like to see some of the top guys producing more, it’s not a bad thing to have that secondary and even tertiary scoring. Clifton ended a 71-game goal drought and now has 12 points on the season. In a game like this where you have to grind it out against a struggling opponent until the end, I’ll take scoring however I can get it.
Plus 2: Dahlin is a Beast
Rasmus Dahlin finished Friday night’s game with a team-high 29:54. That’s over four minutes higher than Henri Jokiharju, who was second with 25:07. Dahlin has been called upon even more since Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson went out with injuries, and to his credit, he’s largely lived up to expectations. A fun stat shared on the MSG broadcast: Dahlin has now set a Sabres franchise record with five straight games of 29+ minutes of ice time.
I’m tired just thinking about it.
Minus 1: The Power Play
If there’s one thing we can take away from Friday’s game for the Sabres to work on, it’s the power play. Buffalo went 0-for-4 on the night, with seven shots on goal in 6:13. They also won just two of seven face-offs on the man advantage.
Final Thoughts
Two wins in a row is good, but three wins in a row? Well, that would be even sweeter.
NattyBumppo had the comment of the game: “Can we just give team MVP to UPL right now? Rock solid.” Absofreakinglutely. I’ll openly admit that I was one of those people who wasn’t sure about Luukkonen when the season started, but I’m all in on him now. He’s really stepped up and has been impressive – arguably one of the top goalies as of late. But can someone please tell the NHL Network broadcast folks that his name is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, not Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen? (Okay, it’s a small thing, but this isn’t the first time I’ve heard it.)
This was a good effort game by the Sabres against an opponent that they needed to beat – and they did. Time to put this one in the back pocket and get ready to host the Hurricanes on Sunday night; the Canes will be a much more formidable opponent, with a 34-17-5 record and second in the Metropolitan Division. Good news, though: Carolina also has to play tomorrow night, as they host the Dallas Stars for an 8 pm puck drop before Sunday’s 6 pm tilt in Buffalo.