BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW — It wasn't just a win, it was a dominating one. The Buffalo Sabres are back in the win column after topping the New Jersey Devils 7-1 Monday night. Six different players found the back of the net while Linus Ullmark made 47 saves. With the win the Sabres are now 13-10-5. They begin a Western Canada trip Thursday against Calgary.
5 observations from tonight's game
Magic? No, just Olofsson's shot
We know Victor Olofsson has a lot of power when he shoots the puck -- think Fulton Reed in The Mighty Ducks. If you didn't know how lethal his shot is, just watch the replay from his goal tonight below this observation. In the 2nd period, the Sabres took a 6-0 lead thanks to Olofsson but the funny thing about it -- no one even knew he scored, not even the guys in the arena. A few seconds after the shot (nearly three to be exact), the lamp lit and the horn finally sounded as fans started to cheer wondering what just happened. I watched the replay five times and I still didn't see the puck go in.
If we can't find the puck it's because @vickeo shattered it into a million pieces. 😱#Sabres50 pic.twitter.com/ybtjrKYCZc
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 3, 2019
Sheary's scoreless slump comes to an end
The last time Conor Sheary scored before tonight was October 17th and that means he went 19 games without lighting the lamp. For a guy who had three goals in the team's first four games this season, he needed something to go his way. Sheary scored the team's 3rd goal of the game after jamming in a rebound midway through the first period. He then followed it up a little later with a bounce that went his way, the puck going in the air and over goaltender Louis Domingue. Maybe this will be the re-spark Sheary needs as the team tries to get things back on track.
Rasmus #3 finally capitalizes
In mid-November, the Sabres called up Rasmus Asplund and not long after, he made his NHL debut. Asplund tallied eight points (1G, 7A) in 13 games this season with the Rochester Amerks and fans were hoping it wouldn't take too long for him to do something with the Sabres. A few nights ago against Toronto, Asplund missed on a penalty shot late in the game. It was a different scenario tonight, but Asplund finally capitalized. Already up 4-0, Asplund took a nice feed from Casey Mittelstadt to net his first career NHL goal.
The first of many for Rasmus Asplund. 🚨#Sabres50 | @raasmusaasplunf pic.twitter.com/kGmDyJK92D
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 3, 2019
Nice to see you again, old friend
For the first time since they played the Boston Bruins on November 21st, the Buffalo Sabres scored on the power play. Why is this a step in the right direction? Well during the month of November, the team was just 1-of-37 with the extra man. This was a category on the stat sheet that the Sabres were pretty successful early on in the season and it has (albeit usually does) dwindled since then. We don't expect the team to capitalize on every PP opportunity but getting that first one in a while, 16 treis to be exact, is always a good thing.
Dominating start to December
Yes, I know it's December 2nd and yes, I know it was their first game of the new month. But while we can we're going to call it a Dominating start to December. I can't remember the crowd this fired up following a period and they had every reason to be. Following a month with just three wins, Sabres fans needed to see a performance like the one on display tonight. The question now is whether this team can keep it up and finish the 2019 calendar year on a high note. There's still a lot of hockey to be played but a great December for the Sabres can mean good things once the new year begins.
