When the team is on a two game losing streak and looking to get their first win at home, nothing helps more than having the worst team in the National Hockey League come to town. The Buffalo Sabres got their first win at the First Niagara Center this season with a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jason Pominville scored twice and Jhonas Enroth had 41 saves in the win.
The Sabres as a team looked pretty bad throughout this game and as Lindy Ruff alluded to in his post game press conference, they probably should have lost this game as well. Jhonas Enroth looked superb with his 41 saves which is going to lead some fans wanting to see more Enroth and less Miller. According to the team though, there is no goaltending controversy:
“Everybody knows who Ryan Miller is,” Enroth said. “He’s one of the top guys in the league. I don’t know how many wins he has, but I’ve played only 17 games.”
In terms of the offense, Jason Pominville had his first two goal game of the season, scoring the second and last goals of the game. The Sabres power play, which had gone quiet the last few games, converted on two of their three chances in the game. Pominville talked after the game about how important those two power play goals were:
“We talked about it for the most part in our practices this week,” said captain Jason Pominville, who scored twice and added an assist. “It was the focus of improving the power play and working on different things. We got some good looks [Thursday], did better things. If the power play doesn’t click [Thursday], it might be a different story.”
Even though the Blue Jackets did not win the game, they did play well and can take some solace out of the game which head coach Scott Arniel alluded to after the game:
“We’re doing the right things. We had a lot of opportunities. I thought the guys came to play tonight. We have to keep our heads high and keep working. At time like this, you have to continually remind yourself that we’re going to get rewarded for the work.”
The Sabres will look to keep the home winning streak going as the Florida Panthers come to town on Saturday night.