Game 77: Despite it all, the Sabres are still alive

All wins are pretty even when they're not and the Sabres 4-2 win over the Flyers fits that description.

BUFFALO — The majority of Friday night’s tilt between the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers was as close to one-sided as it can get without it being a blowout. The Flyers dominated in pressure, possession, shots, and chances and for the majority of the game they virtually overwhelmed the Sabres.

And yet, through it all, the Sabres were never out of it. Hell, they even got the first goal of the game when Tage Thompson deked Flyers rookie goalie Ivan Fedotov, making his first NHL start, at 10:01 of the first period.

But after the Flyers tied it at 9:07 of the second period after the Sabres failed multiple times to clear their own zone and ultimately allowed a Noah Cates goal, coach Don Granato called a timeout. At one point they were being outshot 25-6 by the Flyers and the game was teetering out of control. That timeout snapped the Sabres out of the shell they’d been stuck in up to that point.

“That timeout was big for us,” Rasmus Dahlin said. “We just went back to the simple stuff. We were trying to complicate things when they started pushing and once we just started to do the right things out there, we played better, for sure.”

Dahlin was the person to highlight speaking to this because it was from that point on he took charge to lead the Sabres to victory.

“He is a significant leader and him taking charge is significant for us and for this organization,” Granato said. “He’s more talkative, more assertive. He knows he needs to step up and he is stepping up.”

More on Dahlin and the Sabres staying within shouting distance of the postseason with a win.