The Buffalo Sabres passed a difficult and challenging test in their quest to make and succeed in the postseason, battling through five fights, blowing an early three-goal lead, before staging a late comeback to win 8-7 over the Tampa Bay Lightning at a raucous KeyBank Center on Sunday. The victory is the Sabres 13th in the last 16 games, and propelled Buffalo into sole possession of top spot in the Atlantic, and perhaps set the stage for an exciting second-round matchup with the veteran-laden Tampa squad.
The Lightning clearly took a page out the playbook of their division rival, the Florida Panthers, attempting to push around the Sabres, instigating five fights, and specifically targeting Sabres team captain Rasmus Dahlin and defenseman Bowen Byram. Dahlin dropped the gloves with Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh early in the game, and then was assaulted by Tampa’s Brandon Hagel, earning the former Sabre draftee a double-minor for roughing and a $5,000 fine from the NHL on Monday, while Byram tussled with Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous.
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“I’m not a referee, but I mean a situation like that, usually a guy gets kicked out, he doesn’t get four (minutes). He probably should get two for every punch, and it probably would lead to at least 20 minutes,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the win.
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Tampa responded with three goals in the middle frame, and took a 7-5 lead in the third, but goals from Dahlin and Jason Zucker tied the game, and Josh Doan scored the Sabres fourth power play goal with 4:17 left to give the Sabres the victory.
“I think the group has got real tight, and it showed tonight. They answered every call. They were there in every play, and even getting down. You’re up 4-1., you get down by a couple, just how hard we worked to get back in the game. There was no quit. The desire to finish this thing the right way. I thought every guy was on board.” Ruff said “We’re playing for a playoff spot. That’s what we’re playing for. Both teams are still playing for a playoff spot. That’s really what it was all about. We know how tight this conference is, we know how tight the division is. It’s one game at a time, but knowing that we’re looking for a playoff spot.”
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Although the fact that goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave up seven goals on 28 shots, and the Sabres surrendered a significant lead, it is tough to ignore the momentum that Buffalo continues to build on. The win over Tampa has the Sabres at an .806 winning percentage (28-6-2) since December 9, when they were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. This is reminiscent of the St. Louis Blues magical run in 2019, when the Blues went 30-10-5 in the final 45 games after being in last place in the NHL on New Year’s and that resulted in a Stanley Cup victory.
At this point, the Sabres are concerned with clinching their first postseason berth since 2011, but their winning ways have their long-starving fanbase hungering for more.
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