The Sabres had been mired in an offensive slump for what seems like months, even though is was merely weeks. One goal per game was all that the hockey gods allotted, and it was exceptionally frustrating and boring to watch.
However, during the week of Thanksgiving, the hockey gods granted the Sabres a cornucopia of goals, three of them coming on the power play, as the Sabres took down the Flames at home 4-2.
The game started in a very familiar way for the Sabres, with Calgary scoring the first goal thanks to Mikael Backlund in the first period. Despite the Sabres leading in shots 13-9 after one, they would go into the first intermission down 1-0.
The second period, though, would be a much different story. The Sabres were awarded with a metric ton of power plays, including a 5-on-3, and responded with three PP goals, from Kyle Okposo, Johan Larsson, and Matt Moulson, who is once again tied for the NHL lead in power play goals. Taylor Fedun assisted on two of those goals, giving him four assists in three games.
Those three goals all came in 1:41, the fastest three goals they’ve scored since 1998 against the Bruins, per Sabres PR.
The Sabres would see their lead chipped away quickly in the third, with Matthew Tkachuk scoring just 22 seconds into the period, but Marcus Foligno would put the Sabres back up by two thanks to a beautiful backhand past Brian Elliott, who only made 28 saves on 32 shots.
With the 4-2 victory, the Sabres have now won two in a row heading in to their traditional Thanksgiving Eve game against the Red Wings, which will possibly include the return of Ryan O’Reilly.
Two Questions
1. Will Robin Lehner give the Sabres the same strong performance his counterpart has?
Yes, Lehner made 29 saves on 31 shots for a .935 save percentage. He made some nice saves to keep the Sabres in it while down 1-0.
2. Will the Sabres ever score more than one goal again?
Yes, and despite the fact that three of them came on the power play, it feels so good.
Comment of the Game
All…
I just got home, and in the time it took me to turn on the game, and then go make a quick dinner, we have 3 goals. Is this real life?
Posted by SwordsAndSkins