BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It remains a Jekyll and Hyde season for the Buffalo Sabres. After back-to-back games of scoring just one goal, the Sabres found the offense against the Kings en route to a 7-0 win. With the win, the Sabres snap a two-game losing streak, improving to 23-25-4 on the season.
5 Observations from Tuesday's win:
Explosive offense [for now]
When talking about the Sabres the term explosive is relative. Nobody would say they've consistently produced enough offense this season. But on Tuesday they looked like an entirely different team.
They controlled play in the offensive zone, got bodies to the net, and scored in a variety of ways. Regardless of how they finish the season, the offense is the biggest reason why they've failed to meet expectations. While nights like Tuesday are promising, they also make the season up to this point that much more puzzling because they are capable of scoring goals.
Jordan Greenway also gets an individual shout-out for his game on Tuesday. He sent a perfect pass to Peterka to start things off, scored his own goal minutes later, and capped off the night with the Sabres 7th goal of the game.
UPL continues to shine
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen isn't cooling off. His ridiculously hot stretch continued against the Kings with another exceptional performance. In a season where not much has gone right for the Sabres, UPL is the exception. With his shutout, he now has four on the season, which is the second most in the NHL. We sat down with Luukkonen last week to discuss his recent success:
When you're wrong, you're wrong. I have been unfairly critical of Luukkonen's play when there have been much bigger issues.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) February 7, 2024
Not only has UPL proven he should be the starter for the rest of the season, but perhaps years to come.
So we sat down with him.https://t.co/TiN2RBpmVV pic.twitter.com/2a97GYPmHH
Benson snaps his cold streak
Zach Benson scored his first goal since December 15 in the second period on a pretty play where he displayed patience to get to his backhand and beat Kings goaltender David Rittich.
With Jack Quinn likely to miss the next several months, Benson has been catapulted into a larger role on the "second" line with Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka. As Benson matures and gets more experience he will score more often, but it's good to see him rewarded for his solid play in other areas of the game. Remember, he's still just 18-years-old.
Not shopping Mittelstadt
Before the game Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams was on WGR 550 and was asked plenty of questions about the looming NHL trade deadline. When asked about Mittelstadt, Adams insisted he isn't shopping the Sabres young center. Adams did admit he's listening to every call, as he should be, but he also believes they could sign Mittelstadt to an extension. He also clarified Mittelstadt is TWO years away from unrestricted free agency.
Not that you asked, but I think Mittelstadt is the perfect player to sign to a shorter-term bridge deal. He says he wants to stay in Buffalo and I don't think that's lip service. If you lock him up for a few more years you aren't blocking your future players in the foreseeable future and can evaluate where you are as an organization down the road. I have a lot of gripes with some of the players on the roster but Mittelstadt isn't one of them.
The middle pair has a solid night
With both Owen Power[week-to-week] and Mattias Samuelsson [out for the season] out of the lineup, Jacob Bryson was back in the lineup and paired with Connor Clifton. I thought they both had a solid game and did a good job against the Kings as they began to start pushing back. With both Bryson and Clifton, they have shown flashes of strong play but have lacked consistency. They'll likely have a lot more games paired together as the Sabres deal with their injuries and the looming deadline and Tuesday was a good start.
