Game 61: A thorough thrashing delivered
The Buffalo Sabres got the quick start they don't usually get and used that to kickstart a 7-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
BUFFALO — Ever since that blockbuster Jack Eichel trade, a Buffalo Sabres-Vegas Golden Knights game is an event in Western New York. Two seasons ago it was a party for the Sabres defeating Eichel’s new team. Last season was Eichel’s redemption when he scored a hat trick in a Vegas win.
This time around, without Eichel in the Golden Knights lineup, the Sabres delivered a complete game in a 7-2 victory.
Ever since the start of 2024, we’ve seen a bit of a different Sabres team than the one we watched for the first three months. The Sabres we’ve watched of late better resemble the one we saw a season ago, only with vastly better goaltending.
They play with confidence and swagger. Their game soars with a pace that forces opponents to play back on their heels more often than not and it opens up opportunities to score. Even more importantly, they’ve gotten the kind of goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen that better allows them to play like this knowing he’s going to make the easy and difficult saves more often than not.
We saw all of that on display Saturday night in spades.
“This league’s not easy, and you talk about the expectations, you talk about all of that, and sometimes you forget that you still got to go out and play the games, and I think that we’re just going out and playing the games and believing in what we’re doing and trying to stick to a game plan and win,” Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. “We’re scoring goals different ways, which has been really nice to see.”
More ahead on a butt-kicking delivered on home ice that’s been in the making for some time.
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