The Buffalo Sabres, fresh off a big two points against the Florida Panthers, looked to cap off the mini Florida road trip with a win against the hottest team in the NHL in the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sabres have been red hot, but the Lightning entered 17-1-1 in their previous 19 games.
The game ended up being a fantastic back-and-forth affair that showed us that the Sabres can hang with the best of the best. It took a last second push by the Lightning to tie things up before Jake Guentzel captured the win for the Lightning in overtime 4-3.
Colten Ellis has Been an Invaluable Pickup
Colten Ellis stopped 31 of 35 on Tuesday night but that doesn’t tell the full story of just how good he was. He was critical, particularly in the third period when the Lightning were pressing. They managed to tie the game twice but on both goals there was nothing Ellis could have done.
With the news that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will miss the Olympic Games, Ellis’ performance has become even more valuable for the Sabres. Though he will serve as the backup to Alex Lyon, the Sabres have been fortunate to be able to just plug him into the lineup without a drop-off.
If anything, the Sabres were fortunate to get out with a point against the Lightning. There were long stretches in which the Lightning dominated, and Nikita Kucherov was visibly frustrated throughout much of the third period as Ellis turned aside chance after chance.
That Was an Epic Game
That may have been the most action-packed and exciting game the Sabres have had this season. Both teams traded chances throughout the third period and overtime, and it had the feelings of a prize fight between two heavyweights.
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After being on their heels for the last several minutes of regulation, ultimately seeing the game tied on a bomb from the point by Darren Raddysh, the Sabres took charge in overtime. They outshot the Lightning 5-1 in the extra session, the lone mistake ultimately costing them the game.
The Sabres have been “The Sabres” for far too long, so it can be difficult to remember that they are in it to win right now. The Sabres have been one of the best teams in the NHL over their last 27 games, and they showed that they can hang with a serious Stanley Cup contender like the Lightning.
The Mattias Samuelsson Revenge Tour Continues
One of the best parts of the Sabres turnaround has been the revelatory season by Mattias Samuelsson. It has been talked about extensively just how stark the turnaround by Samuelsson has been, but it becomes more apparent all the time.
Samuelsson scored the first two goals for the Sabres on Tuesday, taking him up to 11 for the season. To put into context how incredible that is: he had scored seven goals in the previous 212 games of his career. Factor in that he is +29 while logging the most minutes per night of his career and his play has been nothing short of astounding.
Samuelsson is playing Norris Trophy-caliber hockey this season, though he obviously won’t garner much attention in that regard. That said, it’s been fun watching Samuelsson this season and every goal only takes things up another notch.
A Critical Three of Four Points
While it is disappointing that the Sabres lost the lead with 0:26 left in regulation and lost the game in overtime, it can’t be understated how important it was to get three of four points out of this Florida road trip.
If the Sabres can defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, they would have all the momentum in the world going into the Olympic break and set them up to have a successful run towards the playoffs.
