GAME RECAP: Sabres 3 @ Predators 2
“Woo-hoo!”
The Buffalo Sabres (14-11-1) victory over the Nashville Predators (12-10-4) made my inner Homer Simpson want to come out and play. And not just for any one reason. The return of Ryan Miller was a huge lift. The Sabres once again flipped the script and took a 2-0 first period lead of their own. Then letting the Predators back in the game, only to slam to door late. Who wouldn’t want to let off a “woo-hoo” after that?
Whether it was the return of Ryan Miller, motivation from losing the night before, or something else, the Sabres looked as good in the first period as they have in any opening period all year. Buffalo has been looking for offensive contributions from players not named Thomas Vanek or Jason Pominville. On Saturday night, they found a couple of guys to do just that.
Luke Adam opened the scoring with his 9th goal of the season mid-way through the first period. Ville Leino and and Christian Ehrhoff assisted. At the end of the first period, rookie Zach Kassian scored his 2nd goal of the season with Luke Adam and Ville Leino on the assist.
The Sabres gave up a power play goal to Craig Smith early in the third period to cut the Sabres lead to 2-1. Tyler Ennis scored his first goal of the season with just under five minutes left to play on an assist from Derek Roy. David Legwand netted a late goal after that, but it wasn’t enough for the Predators.
The Sabres won on a night when they didn’t get a single point out of Vanek or Pominville. Luke Adam is officially for real and Ville Leino is showing signs of life. Getting Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis going will also be important for Buffalo. And we’re seeing signs of this happening now.
It’s obviously good to have star goaltender Ryan Miller back. He stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced and held Nashville scoreless until the third period. This being his first start in three weeks, Miller could have been fatigued in the third period. Translation: Miller is back and he should even get better than this.
It is important to note that not everything was sunshine and rainbows for Buffalo. The Sabres were massively out-shot 34 to 14. And while Nashville was 1 for 3 on the power play, the Sabres failed to convert any of their three power play opportunities. The Predators also dominated face-offs, winning 32 compared to only 19 for the Sabres.
But a win is a win is a win. And the Sabres needed a win in the worst of ways. Buffalo is off until Wednesday when they face the Philadelphia Flyers in Buffalo. You know that will be a hard-fought, physical game. The Sabres need to rest up and get healthy. They really can’t afford to lay another egg at home, even to a good team like the Flyers.
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