The Buffalo Sabres are heading out on a very important Western road trip starting Tuesday. The Sabres will face Vegas, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim on the upcoming road swing.
The slate of games will be against Western Conference teams that are all in the thick of a tight choice. The Sabres have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL coming out of the February Olympic break.
After running their last winning streak to eight games, the team suffered a 2-1 loss to the Capitals on Thursday night in Buffalo. On Saturday night, the Sabres got right back into the win column with a 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
The key win maintained the team’s position atop the Atlantic Division standings. Despite trailing 2-1, Buffalo was able to secure the extra point in the shootout and the much-needed victory.
“Those extra points this time of year are huge, “ said head coach Lindy Ruff. “I could have walked in here and said we got a point out of the game. But to get the extra point at this time of year, teams around you are losing, that’s a huge point. “
The team has come together and is unified as a group, finding ways to win games in different ways has been a hallmark of the success the club has had since early December.
Points will become even more difficult to attain as the final month of the regular season begins.
The Sabres know they must keep continue to play with the same team concept that has allowed them to save what had initially appeared to be another lost season.
“We’ve been playing really well,” said Sabres winger Alex Tuch. “We’ve been playing for one another. That’s huge. Backing each other up. Everybody’s chipping in. Everyone being ready to go. A 20 man effort tonight and that’s what we’re going to have to have to keep going. “
Follow Dave
On X @DaveNHL
On Facebook at [email protected]
On bluesky@davenhl. bsky
