Score: Sabres 1 | Kings 0
Shots: LA 23 | 19 BUF
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Jason Zucker (4, PP)
Los Angeles Kings Goals: N/A
Plus-1: A Solid First Period
The first period went well for the Sabres in that they maintained pressure and did not allow any goals against them. There were two main reasons for this. One being Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen making several impressive saves on some solid chances by the Kings (more on him later). The second being Buffalo keeping the puck in LA’s zone for much of the period and – though unable to score on their first power play of the game – they certainly executed their own chances. This was thanks to forwards like Jiri Kulich – who had a very “mature” period, according to Marty Biron – and Jason Zucker, who showed some grit by winning battles and keeping the puck in the offensive zone on several occasions.
Minus-1: Too Many Penalties
Overall, the Sabres need to make staying out of the penalty box a more regular occurrence. Unfortunately, this was not the case tonight, but they were still able to kill all five of their penalties. They were lucky the scoreboard did not reflect these mistakes because tonight could have easily ended differently against a solid Kings team.
A few forwards who made a positive impact on the penalty kill were Ryan McLeod – who led in shorthanded ice time with over six minutes – as well as Alex Tuch (a consistent PK contributor as we have come to find out) and Zach Benson, to name a few. Beck Malenstyn should also get a shout out for his blocked shot that caused him to miss a few minutes after a brief injury.
Plus-2: One and Done
Buffalo began the first two periods zero-for-two on the power play. And, while the man-advantage continues to be a struggle for the team, they have slowly been improving in this department. With Zucker’s goal tonight (a nice redirect from the front of the net on Rasmus Dahlin’s original shot), Buffalo now has a power play goal in each of their last seven games. Dahlin and Alex Tuch – credited with the assists – also continue their point streaks as they head to their next matchup against Anaheim on Thursday night.
Final Thoughts
Obviously tonight was low-scoring and somewhat uneventful. However, there were some shining moments. Besides Zucker’s goal, Luukkonen deserves much praise for his performance. In his career against the Kings – just three games – he now has 77 saves on 79 shots. Tonight was his second shutout against the west coast team and he was everything a fan would have wanted to see between the pipes tonight.
Three Stars:
1. Jason Zucker (1G, 13:29 TOI)
2. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (23 SV)
3. David Rittich (.947 SV%)