The Buffalo Sabres continued their winning ways with a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. The victory brings the Sabres remarkable streak to ten consecutive wins. Buffalo now sits in the second wildcard playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
This game was the most impressive of the run, as the Sabres controlled the contest for much of the night against the second-best team in the National Hockey League, in the Stars. Tage Thompson led the way with two goals and an assist after Buffalo gave up the first goal of the game to Mavrik Bourque of Dallas.
With goalie Alex Lyon out with a lower-body injury, Ukko-Pekka-luukkonen delivered another strong performance against the offensively gifted Dallas squad. The Sabres season dramatically turned in a positive direction beginning with a December 9th Victory at Edmonton and there has been no stopping them since.
The change in general manager to Jarmo Kekalainen has brought with it a new beginning for the group and a commitment to consistently strong play. The club has built this streak on outstanding goaltending from both Lyon and Luukkonen, cashing in on offensive chances and a commitment to team defense with a relentless forecheck.
The Sabres have won games in different ways each night, and have had many players step up in each match-up to secure the victories in the ten game drive to a postseason position.
“You’ve got to have a lot of things going for you”, said head coach Lindy Ruff. “Some nights your goalies win you games. I think some nights your top guys win you games when you are on a roll like this. And then there are nights where a line like (Josh)Dunn’s line has a big night and controls the game and helps you win a game.”
“But there’s a lot of little things, blocked shots, being in lanes, to slowing people up going in the zone. Every night there’s probably something a little bit different that helps you win.”
Buffalo will look to set a team record with an eleventh consecutive win at Columbus on Saturday.
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