*Photo from the Buffalo News*
If you were to look for the last time that the Buffalo Sabres started a season 3-0-0, you'd have to look back to when Barack Obama was first elected as president in 2008. Well, now you can look back to October 19, 2021. Jeff Skinner scored, Kyle Okposo scored, and the Sabres defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday night.
It's the first time the Sabres have started a season 3-0-0 since the 2008-2009 season, when they opened the season 4-0-0. This strong start to the season won't end the Sabres long playoff drought by itself, as so many other things need to happen, but it is a step in the right direction. They also won their 3rd straight game as Rasmus Dahlin celebrated his 200th NHL game.
Okposo said of the undefeated start that "It's just another brick in the foundation of the way we want to play. That's something that you have to learn how to do as a team. You're not going to have it every night; we play 82 games. But to find a way to stay in it and slog through a bit of your 'B game' until you can find the legs, find your 'A game,' I think we did a really good job of that. So, that's something that is a good lesson for us to learn."
It was Bo Horvat who scored first, scoring his first goal of the season 5:57 into the first period, giving the Canucks an early 1-0 lead. Okposo then tied it 1-1 with his second goal of the season, coming at the 8:22 marker of the period. Justin Dowling then put the Canucks ahead 2-1 with 3:59 left in the period, scoring his first goal of the season.
In the second period, Zemgus Girgensons scored the lone goal of the period, getting the Sabres back on the board and tying the game 2-2. In the 3rd period, Skinner scored at 3:33, Tage Thompson scored just 23 seconds after him at 3:56, and Rasmus Asplund scored at 17:05 of the 3rd, giving the Sabres a 5-2 lead and securing the undefeated start.
Sabres head coach Don Granato said that "What I like about the buzz, it's not about winning. We want to win, we play to win, obviously. They play hard for each other and they want to come to the rink and see their buddies. They go hard in practice, they're building that. It's not something we're doing as coaches, obviously. They enjoy being around each other and you can feel and see that. For them to get rewarded by winning is even better."
40 year old Craig Anderson picked up the win in goal for the Sabres, improving to 2-0-0 this season. Anderson turned aside 32 shots out of the 34 that the Canucks flung at him, posting a .941 save percentage in his winning effort.
On the Canucks, Thatcher Demko got the start in goal, taking the loss to fall to an even 1-1-1 in 3 starts this season. Demko faced a lot more shots, saving 38 of the 42 flung at him by the Sabres, posting a .905 save percentage in the loss.
Canucks head coach Travis Green said of the loss that "We didn't play good enough to win, that's how I'd diagnose it. That's a fast team over there. I thought that we struggled with their speed a little bit at times. And usually when you struggle with a team's speed, it's because you are not very good with the puck. I just don't think we were good enough to win tonight."
The Canucks get back into action on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, with Demko likely to start in net once again. The Sabres host the Boston Bruins on Friday night, with Anderson likely getting the start in goal.
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