Buffalo seeks to extend its road trip with a third consecutive victory.
By Chris Ryndak / Sabres.com
Can the Sabres make it three in a row on the Western Canadian road trip? We’ll find out tonight as they face the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena at 10 pm. The GMC Game Night pregame show starts at 9:30 and we’ll have full coverage of the morning skate for you here on Sabres.com before that.
Here’s what you need to know.
Yesterday’s practice
From the Ice Level Practice Report.
Sometimes, it takes a step back to force a team to move forward. For the time being, it seems like the pivotal moment for the Buffalo Sabres may have come at home on Saturday, when a 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars raised concerns from within about the team’s effort and consistency.
Since then, the Sabres have won the first two games of their road trip in Western Canada, defeating one of the hottest teams in the NHL in the Calgary Flames in overtime followed by a 5-0 trouncing of the Edmonton Oilers one night later.
In the eyes of Jordan Nolan and Scott Wilson, the two players on Buffalo’s roster with Stanley Cup victories on their resume, those wins represent an understanding of what it will take to keep winning games in the second half of the season.
“I think it’s good that we got embarrassed like that against Dallas,” Nolan said following an optional practice on Wednesday. “It’s good to have those kind of games, have those kinds of losses to put things in perspective. It’s really just about hard work and competing and playing the right way. You don’t need the most skill. Some teams have all the skill in the world but if they don’t do that, they’re not going to win so it doesn’t really matter.”
What’s changed in these last two games? According to Nolan, it’s not just how the Sabres have played – it’s the consistency with which they’ve played for three periods. In both Calgary and Edmonton, they displayed a commitment to backchecking hard, winning battles and supporting one another in all three zones. Most importantly, they’ve done it for 60 minutes.
“I think we’ve really been trying to make strides in the right direction, just playing good hockey, not even worry about the results,” Wilson said. “Just getting back to doing the little things right and trying to play for a full 60. I think we realize that the good teams are able to not just play two periods or one good period of hockey a night. It’s got to be 60 minutes every day.”