Sabres breakout offensively after being held to one goal in two home losses
Sabres breakout offensively after being held to one goal in two home losses
Turn It Up To 11
The Buffalo Sabres on their California road swing lost the opening game in Anaheim and fell behind 3-1 to the Kings after one period. The Sabres then rallied with four straight goals in a 5-3 win on January 24, which contributed to the firing of L.A. head coach Todd McLellan over the All-Star break.
The Kings came off a shutout victory over Edmonton and hoped to create some momentum under new bench boss Jim Hiller, but the Sabres scored less than five minutes into the first period and added two more goals before the end of the opening stanza. Buffalo’s seven goals in the game made it 11 straight goals against the Kings and was the second-highest goal total for them this season.
Home Scoring Blues
The Sabres scoring woes this season are well documented, but the disparity between home and road is quite stark. Going into the game against Los Angeles, Buffalo were 27th in the NHL in goals at home with 68, while they were 11th in the league in scoring on the road. Their seven goals against the Kings moved them up to 23rd, but the lack of scoring at Key Bank Center is central to their poor 12-14-1 record.
Luukkonen Locking Down The Top Job
On January 11, the goalie rotation between Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ceased to exist, as the 5-3 victory over Ottawa began a stretch where Luukkonen started 10 of the next 11 games and saw Levi headed to the American Hockey League. During that stretch, the big Finn has posted the best GAA (1.62), save percentage (.939), and the most shutouts (3) in the NHL, but the Sabres have only gone 5-5 in his 10 starts.
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