The Buffalo Sabres are coming off their sixth straight win, a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The Sabres, who started the winning streak three games below .500, are now three games above .500 with a record of 17-14-4 (38 points). They are three points behind the Devils for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the third seed in the Atlantic Division.
Since Nov. 15, Buffalo is 12-6-0, the fifth-best record in the NHL over that span. For a team that lost their first three games on a long six-game road trip to start December, they’re now on the right track. Here are the biggest keys to their recent success.
Sabres Goaltending Has Been Stellar
Goaltending has been the Sabres’ biggest question mark this season. However, over the last month, it has been much better, with all three goaltenders contributing, especially Alex Lyon.
Lyon has been everything the Sabres hoped for this season. Since Nov. 15, he has played seven games (starting six) with a 5-1-0 record, a save percentage (SV%) of .905, and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.64. All five wins came during this winning streak.
Lyon has helped solve the team’s goaltending issues. I know Sabres general manager (GM) Jarmo Kekalainen wants to return to a two-goaltender rotation, and reports have surfaced that Lyon would be the odd man out. Still, as long as he keeps helping the team win, Kekalainen will have no choice but to keep him on the roster.
How about the other two goaltenders? Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been a little less red hot than Lyon, but he’s getting the job done when called upon. In seven games (all starts), he has a record of 4-3-0 with a SV% of .898 and a GAA of 2.56.
Luukkonen has been better during the last month, but he continues to provide inconsistent performances. He has yet to string together back-to-back games with an SV% of at least .900, but as long as he’s winning, nothing else matters right now. He looked very impressive in their win against the Devils on Sunday night, allowing only one goal on Jack Hughes’ shot from the left dot.
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Colten Ellis, on the other hand, has been injured for most of the Sabres’ red-hot stretch of games. He was injured in a collision during a 4-3 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 9. He was not great before then, with a record of 3-2, an SV% of .888, and a GAA of 3.32.
Sabres Top Players Are Producing Every Night
The Sabres are getting production from their top players every night. Rasmus Dahlin has 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 18 games. Tage Thompson has 18 points (11 goals, seven assists) in 18 games, including two separate six-game goal streaks (Nov. 13 to Nov. 23 and Dec. 8 to Dec 20), and he has had points in 13 of 18 games since Nov 15.
Since returning from injury, Josh Norris has been the elite player the Sabres hoped they were getting when they traded Dylan Cozens for him at last season’s trade deadline. In eight games, he has 10 points (four goals, six assists) and has been one of the Sabres’ best players.
The Sabres have nine players with at least a half point per game, which shows their depth has been as dependable as their star players. Alex Tuch, for example, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He has 14 points in his last 18 games, but he does more than make plays in the offensive zone. He’s been a big part of the team’s solid penalty kill; he’s also a factor in the defensive zone, on the forecheck, and being defensively aware, not leaving his assignment.
I could go on and on about how well all the Sabres have played during this stretch, but we’d be here for a couple of hours. If the Sabres continue to see production from their star players, their depth will follow suit, and soon they could find themselves in a playoff spot.
After digging themselves a hole in the first 17 games of the season, they’re now back on track. Kekalainen knows what he’s doing in rebuilding the management group, and the players are showing up for Head Coach Lindy Ruff; everything is going right. We’ll see if they can extend their winning streak to seven games on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators, who sit two points ahead of the Sabres.
