Game 66: Well, that's interesting
The Sabres bum-rushed the Red Wings with a four-goal first period en route to a 7-3 win to kick off the biggest week of their season.
BUFFALO — A funny thing happened to the Buffalo Sabres on the way to playing out the string: they wound up creeping their way back into the discussion for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Sabres sat seven points out of the second wild card to start the week and with three games against teams right in front of them in said race, they found themselves in position to officially make things interesting as the season ticks down. All they have to do is beat the Detroit Red Wings twice and the New York Islanders in between those two matchups.
The Sabres got part one taken care of at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night in a 7-3 romp against the Red Wings. They blitzed out to a 4-1 lead after the first period and held a 7-2 advantage after two.
They’re not in it, not yet, but they’re creeping into the discussion by earning points one way or another regularly.
“(We’re) not thinking about that,” Alex Tuch said. “Honestly, just going out and playing, just shift by shift, coming in, working every day. We’re a really young team and we’re going to continue to try to get better individually and as a team.”
Not thinking about the possibility is probably the best thing for this group after they’ve felt the weight of expectations since the start of training camp. Yes, that’s our fault for asking about it so regularly, but after finishing one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card last year, this was just the natural course of progression.
More ahead…
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