The Buffalo Sabres have come out of the Olympic break strong. The team swept their three game road trip to start the stretch run with victories over New Jersey, as well as Atlantic division rivals Florida and Tampa.
With just twenty-two regular season games remaining to close out the 25-26 schedule, the Sabres are red hot and continue to gain points and climb in the standings.
Buffalo now sits in second place in the tightly contested Atlantic race, just four points behind the division leading Lightning following a 6-2 victory at Tampa on Saturday.
Sabres finally a trade deadline buyer
While general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will be looking for opportunities to bolster the Sabres lineup as the trade deadline nears on Friday, the return of key players from injury has strengthened the group for the challenging playoff push ahead.
Center Josh Norris rejoined the club following the Olympic hiatus, strengthening the group up the middle. The native of Oxford Michigan, netted two goals in the win over Tampa.
Winger Zach Benson returned to the lineup on Saturday helping to stabilize the forward line combinations.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka-Luukkonen stepped back into the fold following the February break and delivered two victories on the trip.
The turnaround of the season in Buffalo has been one of the most remarkable stories in the National Hockey League. Starting in mid December, the group was able to climb out of the basement of the standings and now find themselves among the top teams in the league.
“It just shows that we’re a really good team, “ said Norris. “We’ve known that for a while now. We just go out there and do our thing. I think we just have a lot of belief in ourselves right now.”
Follow Dave
on X: @davenhl
On Facebook: facebook.com/dave.reichert.98
