The Buffalo Sabres have put together three straight wins, capped by Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the L.A. Kings.
On the surface, that’s a nice little run. Look closer, though, and the streak doesn’t carry nearly as much weight as the raw record suggests.
Buffalo opened the stretch with a 2-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks, a team sitting at 7-7-1 with an offense ranked 26th in the league at 2.67 goals-for per game. The Sharks have been inconsistent despite their well-regarded young talent, never stringing together more than two wins or two losses in a row. Colten Ellis earned the shutout, but beating San Jose is not exactly a season-defining accomplishment.
The Sabres followed that with a wild 7-6 win over the Anaheim Ducks, and that result came against a club that has struggled badly. Anaheim is 5-7-1 and sits 12th in the Western Conference, with a 3-6-1 record in its last 10 games.
The Ducks have also been one of the league’s weakest defensive teams, allowing 3.85 goals per game. Buffalo’s offense needed the boost, but the Sabres’ own defense was shaky enough to make the night far messier than it should have been.
Saturday’s win over Los Angeles brought the streak to three, but it nearly slipped away. Buffalo built a 2-0 lead, almost coughed it up, and needed a third-period goal to finish off the Kings.
Los Angeles is now 4-7-2, and its home mark dropped to 1-4-0 after the loss. The Sabres got the points, but the performance still left room for concern.
The real examination is coming fast. Buffalo’s next six games include four against teams that are much more dangerous: the Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars.
The other two are against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks, so the Sabres will have chances to handle lesser opponents too. That stretch should tell a much clearer story about what this team actually is.
Lindy Ruff is still trying to get consistent efforts out of his group, and so far this season that hasn’t happened. Buffalo has already shown both sides of the coin, losing three straight right before this current run and never winning more than three in a row. There could be another hot streak ahead, but this one hasn’t been enough to impress anyone paying close attention.
For now, the Sabres remain in the middle of the pack. The next two weeks will go a long way toward showing whether they can do more than beat up on struggling teams.
In Other News...
Lindy Ruff Backed What Tage Thompson Did Late In Buffalo's Win
Late in Buffalos win over the Los Angeles Kings, Tage Thompson gave the Sabres something more than offense to hang onto. After Joel Edmundsons hit on Peyton Krebs along the boards, Thompson stepped in and took a roughing penalty while the game was still hanging in the balance, a reminder that the Sabres are trying to build more than just scoring depth under Lindy Ruff.
Ruff made it clear he had no issue with the response, backing Thompsons choice to stand up for a teammate. Buffalo then had to absorb the pressure and protect the result, and the episode fit neatly into the kind of identity the coach keeps pushing: a team willing to answer when one of its own gets hit. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Can Test Whether Ottawas Hot Offense Hides A Bigger Problem
The Senators are heading into a Western swing with plenty of questions attached to a team that has looked dangerous going forward but uneven everywhere else. Ottawas offense has carried much of the early optimism, with Tim Sttzle and Drake Batherson driving the attack, but the lineup is also dealing with a cluster of injuries that has complicated the picture, including absences or uncertainty around key names such as Warren Foegele, Andre Burakovsky and William Eklund.
For Buffalo, that makes the next few nights worth watching closely even though the Sabres are only one stop on the trip. Ottawas ability to score has not been the issue, and the challenge now is whether the Senators can hold up defensively against a stretch of West Coast games that could expose how much their hot start is masking bigger problems. If they cant tighten things up, this road trip could turn from an opportunity into an early-season reality check. [Read more 🡒]
Tage Thompson Just Gave Sabres Fans A Much Needed Reason To Believe
The Sabres needed something to feel good about early in this road trip, and Tage Thompson delivered it in a setting where Buffalo has often had to grind for every inch. Thompson scored twice in the 3-2 win over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena, giving the Sabres a result that felt more substantial than just another mark in the standings. The game had the usual back-and-forth feel of two teams trading chances, with Buffalo finding enough offense to stay in front when it mattered.
For a club trying to build some momentum away from home, this was the kind of night that can matter beyond one result. Thompsons impact gave Buffalo a chance to leave Los Angeles with a win and a little more belief, while the Kings were left to sort through a loss in a game that stayed tight throughout. The Sabres will take the points, and they will also take the reminder that one of their top scorers can still tilt a game when the margin is razor thin. [Read more 🡒]