Sabres rally in the third to beat Stanley Cup Champs
Sabres rally in the third to beat Stanley Cup Champs
The Buffalo Sabres are a tough team to figure out. They are two games under .500 and have been inconsistent all season, but yet in the last three weeks have defeated the three top teams in the NHL, in the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and on Friday the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Sabres rebounded from former captain Jack Eichel’s go-ahead goal early in the third period with four straight tallies in a 5-2 victory over Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. Rookie Zach Benson scored the game-winner and assisted on Alex Tuch’s insurance marker 1:43 later. Casey Mittelstadt scored twice and Dylan Cozens scored in Buffalo’s 13th win of the season.
Devon Levi was spectacular at times in his third win since being recalled from AHL Rochester earlier this month, making 33 saves for his sixth win of the year.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights:
Larcenous Levi
The 33-save performance by Devon Levi was the fourth positive outing for the 21-year-old goalie since being recalled in early December, but the rookie was extremely sharp early in the game with the score close to keep Buffalo in the contest. Levi’s glove hand was especially sharp on the night.
Benson Putting WJC Talk To Rest
Team Canada kept one roster spot open before the deadline prior to heading to the World Juniors in Sweden. There was some speculation that Benson was someone they were awaiting word on to see if the Sabres would make him available. The injury to Jeff Skinner pretty much ended that, but had the 18-year-old been struggling, there might have still been a chance, but clearly he is not.
Crabby Krebs
Peyton Krebs role with the Sabres has mostly been as an irritant this season, with one of the highlights of the season being a pre-season fight with Sidney Crosby. On Friday, the feisty center came to the defense of teammate Owen Power after he was hit by Jack Eichel. Krebs confronted Eichel, but the former Sabres captain did not want to drop the gloves.
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