BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — For the first time this season the Buffalo Sabres have a win streak. In their first meeting of the season, the Sabres topped the New York Rangers 3-2 for their second straight win of the season.
The Sabres have now grabbed points in three straight games and with the win, improve to 3-3-1.
3 Observations from Tuesday's game:
FINALLY, am I right?
Entering tonight's game, Jack Eichel had seven points in six games -- all of them coming from assists. You had a feeling his first goal was going to come any moment. Well, fans were saying FINALLY tonight... and they weren't the only ones.
On the team's 2nd power play opportunity of the night, Eichel buried one to give the team a 3-2 lead and immediately saw his hands go up in the air and his head take a dip back. You have to assume it was a huge relief for the Captain who's been either 1st or 2nd in scoring since his first season with the team. I think we can all agree this is the start of what will probably be a lot more goals now that the monkey's off his back.
Oh and by the way, with tonight's goal, Jack Eichel has now tied Jochen Hecht for the 19th most goals in franchise history with 138.
Cozens belongs
Earlier today the Sabres re-loaned Casey Mittelstadt, who recorded an assist in Sunday's win, to the taxi squad and recalled Dylan Cozens to the game day roster. Cozens took advantage of the opportunity, scoring the team's first goal of the game and his second goal of the season [his 1st goal came in the last game he played]. Cozens now has three points on the season after recording an assist in the team's season opener.
I get it. There's a taxi squad for a reason and sometimes you've gotta see what other guys like Mittelstadt bring to the lineup. That being said, Cozens belongs and shouldn't be moved for the time being.
"Special" Special Teams
The Sabres have said they've put an emphasis on special teams, especially as of late, and it's paying off. The team capitalized on their first two power play opportunities of the night and killed every penalty in the process [3/3]. They were SO close to getting three power play goals, but Tobias Rieder scored his goal just as the power play clock expired so that technically counts as an even strength one.
In a division like the one they're in, the Sabres will need to take advantage with the extra man, especially with the top line they have. So far, they're doing pretty well and through seven games are currently 9th in the league in power play percentage, as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Final thoughts
First win streak of the season and points in three straight games.
I know it's early and I know there's still a lot of areas they need to work on, but with the way this team has played in the last few games, they are showing signs of progress. They're playing pretty aggressively and that's what you want to see. Since their first win of the season [their 3rd game] back on January 18th, the Sabres have earned seven of a possible 10 points. This is going to be a tough schedule so having a streak like that should give them some momentum as they try and build on this win streak.
