The Buffalo Sabres are on the warpath for the first time in ages and the city is fully behind the much-maligned franchise. Fresh off a 7-4 win over their longtime rivals from Toronto, the Sabres entered the game as the best team in the NHL since Dec. 1.
Entering Thursday, the Sabres prepared to play three of their final five games prior to the Olympic break at home. The Sabres welcomed the struggling Los Angeles Kings and handily dispatched them, walking away with a convincing 4-1 victory.
Lyon King
The very first thing worth talking about is Alex Lyon’s performance. He turned aside 37 of 38 shots from the Kings on Thursday, marking his 10th consecutive victory this season. That is a new Sabres record, passing Gerry Desjardin’s nine straight victories during the 1976-77 season.
Alex Lyon, Buffalo Sabres (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
This season has been nothing short of a renaissance for the 33-year-old career backup. He is 13-6-3 with a solid .914 save percentage and 2.62 goals against average. He has been strong playing in platoon duty with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis.
Though he may not be quite as dominant as fellow career backup Scott Wedgewood, Lyon deserves his flowers. He has the chance to match or best career highs across the board, not to mention play a key role in the triumphant return to the playoffs for the Sabres.
Strong Game from Start to Finish
We’ve talked in this space about the need for complete efforts from the Sabres. They got that against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and followed it up by having another complete 60-minute effort against the Kings.
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They handily won the faceoff battle 62.5-37.5%, got a power play goal, had more blocked shots, more takeaways, and even outshot the Kings in the third period when they would normally just hope to survive the push that trailing teams make.
The most important takeaway here is that the Sabres seem to be adapting and putting teams away before they have a real chance to get back into the game. If they can get the power play buzzing again, it will only make the Sabres more dangerous heading into the stretch run.
Tuch After Tuch After Tuch
There has been a lot of discourse about Alex Tuch and his contract situation. Whatever happens with that, we should stop and appreciate the season that Tuch has been having. He notched a hat trick on Thursday night, bringing him up to 22 goals and 46 points in 52 games.
Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch reacts after scoring a shorthanded goal during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
That 0.88 points per game pace is his best since he finished the 2022-23 season with 36 goals and 79 points in 74 games. He has been playing some of the best two-way hockey of his career, standing out as a leader on this burgeoning team.
It would be nice to have him locked into a new contract sooner rather than later, but it is nice to know that he is going to be here in a season where the team is finally in position to make the playoffs.
Division Lead in Their Sights?
Because it has been so long since their last playoff push – let alone making the playoffs – it feels like Sabres fans have to keep refreshing the standings to make sure that what they are seeing is real. As it stands, the Sabres are third in the Atlantic with 67 points, though both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens also have 67 points.
Even still, the Sabres are just five points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning remain hot, but the Sabres have been inching their way up the division standings. The next goal will be to overtake the Detroit Red Wings, who are three points ahead but have played two more games.
