Game 56: A different but same Sabres team

Following the Sabres 3-2 comeback win against the Ducks, Alex Tuch said this was a game they'd lose badly three months ago. He's right, too.

BUFFALO — When the Buffalo Sabres entered the third period against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, they trailed 2-0, victimized twice by the Ducks’ power play (No. 31 in the NHL) and cursed by three shots off the post in the first period.

All season the Sabres have been a terrible third period team (minus-17 goal differential) and they were 3-18-0 when trailing after two periods. It was a frustrating game for Buffalo and one where a lot of old, bad habits popped up in the second period as the Ducks made life miserable on the home team.

Lindy Ruff shuffled lines to start the third and immediately the trio of Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Jordan Greenway created a Grade-A scoring chance with a shot from Thompson. That kind of attack was something that wasn’t seen all game long and it was a signal that things might be different…and they were.

J-J Peterka reunited with Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn and Cozens set Peterka up for a one-timer that made it 2-1. Minutes later, Tuch took advantage of an off-balance Ducks goaltender Lukáš Dostál putting a shot from along the goal line off him and into the net to tie it. Four minutes after that, Henri Jokiharju whistled a shot from a similar sharp angle over Dostál’s shoulder, past his ear into an opening at the top corner of the net only big enough for the puck to fit through. Cozens assisted on all three goals. It was a stirring comeback.

That 3-2 win came virtually out of nowhere, but it made all the sense in the world that it happened given how the Sabres played the third period. They outshot the Ducks 18-6 in the third period and peppered Dostál with shot attempts all game. It was an earned win even though it had all the makings of a game we’ve seen too often this year.

“I'd say three months ago it would've been a 5-1 loss, honestly,” Tuch said. “And you see the maturity, you see the change, you see no one was down. We were pushing each other, we were pressing each other, we're making sure each other were held accountable and making sure we were doing the right things the whole time. It was awesome…it was contagious.”

The Ducks power play goals came on a first period 5-on-3 with one of the penalties being highly questionable and Mason McTavish cashing in along with a second period power play where goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen kicked a rebound of a Leo Carlsson shot back out to defenseman Pavel Mintyukov in the high slot who slipped a pass back to Carlsson for ripping one-timer.

It was two goals on seven shots nearly 25 minutes into the game by one of the league’s worst power plays. If that didn’t scream “brutal runaway loss” to you after two periods, we’re not sure which team you were watching. Tuch was right and he was right to point that out and he’s even more correct in highlighting the growth this Sabres team has made.

More on that ahead…