*Photo from the Kansas City Star*
If there's one thing we've learned this season, it's that Tage Thompson is a machine. Thompson had a goal and an assist, Rasmus Dahlin had a two point game, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Colorado Avalanche with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night in Denver.
After a long skid, the Sabres have now won two straight games and wins in 5 of their last 10 games, with points in 8 of 10. Leading the way on the scoresheet for the Sabres were Thompson and Dahlin, who each tallied a goal and an assist.
It didn't take long for the Sabres to get on the board, with Thompson finding the back of the net just 54 seconds into the game, assisted by Kale Clague and Casey Middlestadt, Thompson's 24th goal of the season. Alex Tuch then converted a power play goal 7:08 into the game, doubling the Sabres lead to 2-0 with Dahlin and Thompson assisting.
Sabres head coach Don Granato said of Thompson's goal that it was "A lot of poise to set that goal up and really set a tone by Mittelstadt, Thompson and Tuch. Impressive start and our guys were dialed in all the way through. It wouldn’t have been nice to chase that game."
Dahlin got the only goal of the second period, making the lead 3-0 on his 10th goal of the season. In the 3rd period, Mikko Rantanen scored to get the Avalanche on the board, followed by a goal from Evan Rodrigues to cut the deficit to 3-2. With 58 seconds left, Cozens scored an empty net goal to secure the Sabres 4-2 win.
Granato said of the win postgame that "It wouldn't have been nice to chase that game. The Avalanche play an up-and-down style. Those teams that hunker down, you definitely don't want to chase those games. So, impressive start, and I thought our guys were dialed in all the way through."
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the start in net for the Sabres, continuing his run in the NHL with Eric Comrie injured. He got the win, stopping 39 of the 41 shots he was peppered with from the Avalanche, posting a .951 save percentage as his record improved to 4-3-1 in 8 starts.
Getting the start for the Avalanche was Alexandar Georgiev, who got saddled with the loss. Georgiev made 17 saves on 20 shots he was tested with, recording a .850 save percentage. Georgiev's record now sits at 11-6-2 on the season.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said of the loss that "We're sleeping. Sleeping early. They got two in the first seven minutes. We didn't manage the puck properly, didn't defend hard enough, not enough intensity to our game. You see after the, I don't know, call it first 12 minutes of the game, we start to get going. Everything starts turning in our direction. Just couldn't score."
Up next, the Sabres hit the road for a Saturday night tilt against the Arizona Coyotes, with Craig Anderson expected to start. The Avalanche are hosting the Nashville Predators on Saturday night, with Georgiev in line to get the start.
Comments
Post a Comment