The Buffalo Sabres entered the second game of a three-game West Coast road trip on Friday night (Nov. 22). Coming off a tough 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings, it would have been all too easy to take the Anaheim Ducks lightly and lay an egg. The Sabres have recently proven that they are capable of putting up a stinker against a bad team, after all.
For nearly two periods, it looked like that’s what was going to happen. The Sabres mustered two goals in 0:50 to end the second period in a 2-2 tie, setting the stage for Jiri Kulich’s overtime winner to give them the 3-2 edge over the Ducks. Here are the most important takeaways from what was mostly a throwaway game for the rest of the league.
This Sabres Team Has Fight
The very best teams in the NHL aren’t always leading. Sometimes, they have poor starts to games and need to dig down to find what it takes to win. That’s not necessarily saying the Sabres are a great team, but this is the kind of game that they need to look back on when considering what it takes to be a playoff team.
The new additions have been helpful, but it is efforts like these that really make a team a playoff contender. Through nearly two periods, it wasn’t the prettiest game. The Sabres had the shot advantage and generally controlled the play, yet the score found the Sabres trailing by a pair.
The Sabres kept plugging away and finally got something. Within 0:50, Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker had knotted the game at 2-2. Sabres teams of old would have simply rolled over and let the rest of the game tick away. The Sabres kept going and found a boost in those late tallies. Sure, it’s the Ducks, but this is one of those wins that the “good” teams need to happen from time to time.
Luukkonen Rounding Into Form
Now that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the unquestioned starter, you can really see him round into form. Granted, he had already taken over the bulk of the starts before Devon Levi was sent down to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL), but he seems to be gaining confidence.
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Luukkonen turned aside 22 of 24 shots on Friday, with both goals coming through screens or deflections. At this stage, it’s simple for Luukkonen: if he sees it, he stops it. This is the sixth time in his last seven starts that he has given up two goals or fewer, and you can see the team is playing with confidence in front of him.
Luukkonen is quietly starting to climb up the league rankings. Among goalies with at least 10 starts, he is 15th in the league with a .910 save percentage and is 12th in terms of goals against average at 2.55. There are few goalies playing better right now and UPL is just warming up.
Owen Power Quietly Having a Good Season
Part of the comeback was fueled by the play of defenseman Owen Power. The 2021 first-overall pick had a major regression in his second season and needed to find his game again. Though he hasn’t gotten a ton of attention, it certainly seems like he has rounded that corner.
Power had a pair of assists in 23:20 of action on Friday, sporting an impressive plus-3 rating in the process. His previous career-highs in goals (6), assists (31), and points (35) are all seriously in danger given that he now has 15 points in 20 games. That puts him on pace for 12 goals, 49 assists, and 61 points for the season.
His offensive game has taken a major jump forward in a different way than fellow defender Rasmus Dahlin. While the latter is more dynamic offensively, Power quietly ingratiates himself in the play, making smart passes that lead to goals. You can see him gaining confidence and it is finally showing up on the stat sheet.
Quick Turnaround
This is going to be a recurring statement throughout the remainder of the season, but the Sabres have to keep it going. They face another inferior opponent in the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night (Nov. 23), and it would be huge to sweep the three-game road trip with another win.
This cannot be a repeat of the Montreal Canadiens game. It’s tough asking the team to come out fired up a night after an impressive comeback win, but that’s the task. There are six home games in the next seven games, but with teams like the Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and New York Rangers coming to town, the team can’t afford to have many off nights.
