The Buffalo Sabres bounced back after falling to a 0-3-0 start to the season as they daggered the Ottawa Senators, 8-4, in the ongoing NHL regular season, at KeyBank Center, last Wednesday.
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Opening the season with three straight losses stung the Sabres. But a power play that operated seamlessly and X-factors with hustle have made the difference. As the Senators came into close quarters with Buffalo, the home team remained unfazed as they responded with quick hitters and unselfish plays to come out on top. While the Sabres overpowered Ottawa with their dynamic offense, a few tweaks on the defensive end would serve them well in their next games.
Play Power Plays the Right Way
Buffalo went flat on the man advantage in their first three games, as they missed all 11 opportunities. They suffered from predictable execution. Despite their struggles early in the season, Buffalo managed to reverse the situation as they sought and settled for higher percentage chances.
The first goal came from a power play in an unconventional way as Jack Quinn fired a shot that hit the board, bounced from the goalie’s back, and into the net. The patience for Buffalo was evident in this play, as it took them three passes to get the puck into a medium-danger area in the slot for their first score of the night. The Sabres struck again on a medium-danger opportunity after Rasmus Dahlin slipped the puck to Jason Zucker, who unleashed a shot from the edge of the left faceoff circle to give them a two-goal advantage.
Continue to Crash the Net
The Sabres put more bodies in front of the net, which created more chances for rebounds and tip-ins, ultimately benefiting their offense. Alex Tuch dumped a rebound from point-blank range off a Jacob Bryson shot, handing Buffalo their second lead of the game and of the season. The Sabres capitalized on another chance with the man advantage as Zucker deflected Josh Doan’s shot that ended up past the goal line, as Buffalo built a comfortable three-goal cushion.
X-Factors Should Show Up
Doan’s efforts transcended the stat sheet. He was an enforcer, a bruiser on the boards, who willed possessions for the Sabres on the way to scoring goals. Doan made a couple of timely forechecks, with the first one leading to Tuch’s goal and the second one paying off as Zucker ripped his first goal of the night. He was also present in their blue line as he delivered a back check as Ryan McLeod unloaded for his second goal of the night. Doan also finished with three assists.
Meanwhile, Zach Benson tallied his single-game high of four points after registering four assists for the night. Benson, who made his season debut, didn’t suffer much from wearing a protective face shield as he skated for two shots, two takeaways, a hit, and a shot block. Head coach Lindy Ruff had nothing but positive remarks for the 20-year-old, saying, “Getting Benson back was a big plus. I think we all saw that tonight, what a difference it made for us.”
Stop Allowing High-Danger Chances
All four of the Senators’ goals came from high-danger scoring chances. Despite excelling in second-chance points off rebounds, Buffalo needs to fend off bodies near their goalie’s net, which led to some of the goals they allowed against Ottawa. Tim Stutzle buried a rebound from Fabian Zetterlund’s shot from the point, and no one from the Sabres, except Bowen Byram, who had his back turned, was onto the goal scorer. They also let a power-play goal after the Senators tapped the puck a bunch of times, slipping past Alex Lyon’s guard and the goal line.
Step Up in Urgent Situations
The Sabres displayed resilience after trailing early in the second period, where they seized a pivotal moment that turned the tide in their favor. In a shorthanded situation, McLeod stole the puck from a Senators’ clearout and fed the puck into Benson, who flicked a shot that hit wide left, only to regain possession and rifled a shot to tie the game.
The Senators were seemingly on the verge of a burgeoning comeback, but Ruff called a timely timeout to help neutralize Ottawa’s momentum. Then, Buffalo retaliated swiftly with Tuch backhanding a pass to McLeod, who drilled a shot from the left faceoff circle, and Quinn tucked the puck to score his second goal off of Peyton Krebs’ feed.
The Sabres’ recent performance was just a small sample size out of an 82-game season. However, if they want to have a fighting chance of at least being in the playoff conversation, they need to win games now. If they were to create a blueprint on how to grab those wins, they should rely on what they have in front of them.
