The one flaw of the Buffalo Sabres in their resurgence was their record on the road. They entered a five-game road swing with a .500 record (10-10-2), and lost their first game in Carolina, but then rebounded with four straight victories over Nashville, Montreal, the NY Islanders, and on Tuesday pasted the division rival Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 at Scotiabank Arena.
Rasmus Dahlin scored his first hat trick and had two assists, with Josh Doan, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn adding singles. The win increased the Sabres margin over Florida to six points, and over Toronto, Philadelphia, and Washington to eight points in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The news was not good on the goalie front, as starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left the contest in the first period after suffering a lower-body injury.
Advertisement
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff spoke to the media after the game:
It seemed that you had a distinct speed advantage over the Leafs:
I thought we got off to a good start. (After) the goal taken away, they fired back right away, but I thought we responded almost every time they had a little bit of a push. It was a pretty tight game for a while……..We try to play a quick game. Move the puck quick. Go north in a hurry. Get pucks in behind. We’ve been doing a lot better job of that. I think if we can dictate the pace, we can put the other team under duress. Our D have done a great job on the walls, keeping pucks alive, and when they do that a lot of times, we can stress the opposition out.
What were your thoughts on Dahlin’s offensive performance tonight?
He made a couple great plays. I mean, he found the net, tipping the puck in front. You don’t often see a D-to-D tip go in, which was a great play. The empty netter to seal the game. (Dahlin) is finding this game right now. He feels good about his game and I think right now, he’s skating as well as he’s skated the whole year.
Advertisement
Other Sabres Stories
Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere
Dahlin has waited a long time to play consequential games, and he seems to be rising to the occasion:
He said “this is fun”. He said “I don’t even know how to act” before. We know there’s a lot of hockey left, but I’m happy for him. This a guy, and I’ve said this before, (the) young man’s gone through a lot, and I’m so happy for him, that he’s getting rewarded for all the work and all the adversity he’s faced, and this has got to put a big smile on (his fiancee) Carolina’s face, too.
Advertisement
Is Jordan Greenway Ok?
We may have to get him to see (our) medical (team) again. He hasn’t quite been responding to what we’ve been trying to do with him. So we just kept him on the line up…..(It’s) still related to the surgery he had.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo
THN.com/Free
Read the full article here
