The Buffalo Sabres lost their way a little bit last week going 1-2-0 but also finally breaking a fifteen-year postseason drought by backing into the playoffs with results elsewhere going their way.
Honorable Mentions
Ukko Pekka Luukkonen
UPL is starting to create some separation now as the 1A goaltender even as Alex Lyon has had some struggles in his last few starts. The Finn won one and lost one this week, going .900 save percentage with a 2.53 GAA, and was 1.16 goals saved above expected in those two starts.
With the Sabres suddenly struggling to close out the regular season, they will need UPL to continue to be at the top of his game as Lyon works out of his slump.
Player of the Week
This week’s award goes to the Sabrehood – the entire Buffalo Sabres organization, from each and every one of the fans, to the support staff, the playing and coaching squad, the administration and all the way to the Pegula family who own the franchise. That includes some prominent names who are not with the club like former General Manager Kevyn Adams who built this roster, and some who are not with us like the legendary Rick Jeanneret (RIP).
When Buffalo were officially confirmed in the postseason on Saturday afternoon, it marked 5,457 days after their Game 7 defeat at the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on April 26, 2011.
Since then they have plumbed the depths of the league with multiple high picks in the Entry Drafts, and have also come agonizingly close to making the playoffs, but this time we are well and truly back.
Some of the gloss seems to have been taken off this qualification with the recent loss of form, but that’s no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Buffalo has slumped previously this season and found ways to work through it, and we can keep the faith that they will sort things out with five games left to play and then the subsequent playoff series.
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