DON’T GET ME STARTED probably imagined fans hoping for some points a week ago before Buffalo started games against Montreal, Toronto and Montreal again.
How about getting 6 out of a possible 6 points following Buffalo’s 2-1 victory over the Habs in Montreal, the second win there in 5 days. Ryan Miller came up big on several occasions in the game to keep Montreal off the board until the middle of the third period after the Sabres took a 2-0 second period lead on a pair of goals by Thomas Vanek, his 15th and 16th of the season. Montreal peppered Miller with 39 shots while Buffalo had only 18.
That certainly opens up the eyes of opponents fighting to secure a playoff berth as Buffalo came within 2 points of 8th place Carolina. With the win, Buffalo now has 30 points and moved into a virtual 9th place tie with the Rangers in the standings. They passed the Islanders and the Washington Caps in the standings. These three teams were idle Saturday night.
The other teams Buffalo is chasing, New Jersey and Toronto both won their games and are 6 and 7 points, respectively, ahead of Buffalo in the standings. However, caution is advised since Carolina, Islanders Caps and Rangers all have games in hand against the Sabres with Carolina and Rangers having 2 games in hand.
Yet, Buffalo seems to be riding on a pretty big high. Ryan Miller withstood a barrage of shots in the opening period and in the third period, with the game 2-1, Miller had to come up big on a couple of occasions. He was especially sharp in the final minute as the Habs pulled the goalie in favor of a 6th attacker. While Montreal had chances, Miller was equal to the task.
And let’s not forget the second period. Up until a week ago, the second period was the Achilles heel of the team. All of a sudden they are scoring goals in the 2nd as was the case Saturday night when they put two into the Montreal net silencing the crowd.
So, the Sabres now have their sights set on a playoff berth and will need to continue the point getting streak they’ve mustered in the past couple of weeks.
The Sabres were fortunate to escape the first period where they were outshot 13-5 as Montreal controlled much of the period in the Buffalo zone.
Nearing the halfway point of the second period, Montreal was called for tripping, then a delay of game call putting Buffalo on a 5 on 3 resulting in a 1-0 lead for the Sabres. Moving the puck around, the disc went to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff who took a shot from inside the blue line that Vanek tipped by Cary Price at 10:25.
With 39 second left in the period, the Sabres made it 2-0 on a fine passing play as they entered the Habs zone. Tyler Ennis came in on Price while Thomas Vanek was coming down the left side. Ennis fed Vanek a perfect pass and the team’s leading scorer backhanded his 15th goal of the season into the net to make it 2-0 at 19:21.
With under 12 minutes left in the game, Montreal pulled within a goal on a power play when Michael Ryder scored his 10th on a short nudge from outside the crease that got by Miller. It was his 10th of the season.
With Montreal and Toronto out of the way, Buffalo is positioning themselves for a big run with 18 games left on Don’t Get Me Started.
Filed under: Buffalo Sabres, Don't Get Me Started
Tagged with: Buffalo Sabres, Christian Ehrhoff, Montreal Canadians, NHL, Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek
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