@boosbuzzsabres
The Buffalo Sabres are coming of a trio of games where overall they didn't play as well as they could have. Yet, they're on a three-game winning streak as they head to the middle of the continent for a back-to-back beginning tonight against the Winnipeg Jets.
Buffalo's streak began with a game of shinny in Montreal where their starting goalie, Linus Ullmark, got pulled and luckily for them the Canadiens Carey Price was worse than him. The Sabres staked their claim to four consecutive one-goal leads but by the end of the second period, thanks to a shorthanded goal by former Sabre Nicolas Deslauriers late in the period, they found themselves down 5-4 heading into intermission. A goal by Jeff Skinner and a lockdown by goalie Carter Hutton got the game to overtime allowing for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to be the hearo with the OT-winner.
Two days later the Buffalo was back home for a matinee vs. the Vancouver Canucks. The Sabres got out in front once again but allowed three unanswered goals before Skinner and Sam Reinhart scored late in the third period with the goalie pulled to send it to overtime. The 3-on-3 session didn't provide us with a winner so it was off to the shootout, Buffalo's first of the season. Jack Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt scored while Hutton allowed only one goal to the 'Nucks and the Sabres completed a second consecutive come-from-behind win.
On Tuesday it was a matchup against the beast of the east, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on national TV. Skinner and Kyle Okposo scored in the first period and the Lighting responded with a second period goal. The Sabres withstood a late Lightning barrage with the help of two goal posts hit by Tampa in the waning seconds and won 2-1.
For a team with a young core coming off a 31st place finish in 2017-18, winning games they really shouldn't is a sign of progress and one of the big reasons they're doing so is the play of Hutton. The 32 yr. old late bloomer has been solid in net despite inflated numbers and the Sabres seem to have a ton of confidence in his ability to cover for their mistakes and/or inadequacies.
Hutton stole two points for Buffalo against the Lightning, which is the second time so far that the skaters in front of him were outplayed, sometimes very badly, for most of the game. The first time was against Calgary where he stonewalled the Flames until a Buffalo breakdown and led to a tipped-in goal with less than a minute to play. The Sabres had another breakdown in overtime with the loss leaving Hutton visibly upset. "It's not too shocking," he said of losing after being so close to a shutout, "we didn't play very well."
After the win over Tampa, Hutton had a decidedly different demeanor telling the media of he and his mates embracing the battle late in the third with a strong Lightning push to tie the game. "It was a big test for us tonight," he said. "They're a really good hockey team and at times I thought we let them be a really good hockey team. They made their push late, we battled and held them off. It was a big win."
It doesn't get any easier for the Sabres as tonight they head to Winnipeg to face a Jets that has won three in a row and are 9-3-1 in their last 13 games. Winnipeg has a big team with a lot of skill and has ridden the league's second best goal-against average (2.53/game) to an 11-5-1 record and a league-best 8-2-1 record at home. Winnipeg also has the league's best powerplay converting on 17 of 50 opportunities (34%.)
Unlike last season, Buffalo isn't exactly chopped liver at this point in the season. The Sabres are riding their second three-game winning streak of the season into tonight's matchup and are 7-2-2 in their last 11 games. Although Buffalo was swept by Winnipeg last season prior to that they'd won four in a row against the Jets.
The Sabres are being lead up front by Skinner, who's been a great acquisition for Buffalo thus far. Sabres GM Jason Botterill touted the scoring prowess of the former Carolina Hurricane, especially at even strength and he's delivered thus far as he leads the team with 13 goals, which is second in the league, while his 11 even strength goals ties him for the NHL lead. He's on a three-game goal streak, has scored goals in five of this last six games (seven goals total) and ever since coach Phil Housley put him on the top line with Eichel back on October 20, Skinner has scored 12 goals in 11 games. He also has a plus-12 rating tying him for tops in the league.
After tonight the Sabres travel to Minnesota to face the Wild for a typical mid-continent road trip as of late. The Wild sit second in the Western conference, have won four of their last five games and 11 of their last 14 (11-3-0.) In each of the last three seasons the Sabres have had consecutive games at Winnipeg and Minnesota. Last season Buffalo lost to the Wild and the following night lost to the Jets while the previous two seasons they started out in Winnipeg and swept both games.
Coincidence?
We shall see.
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