Buffalo residents have been grappling with the ferocity of the winter storm that has ravaged the North American continent over the past few days, but they can be happy about the success of their professional sports teams.
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If the good performances of the Bills, who are guaranteed the title of the Eastern Division of the NFL of the United States of America, are not surprising, those of the Sabers are a little more. With a 6:3 win against the Detroit Red Wings in front of a full house at the KeyBank Center, head coach Don Granato’s team celebrated their fifth triumph in a row. He still has work to do, however, as his 17-14-2 record isn’t enough to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Nevertheless, there are positive things to report in the city of chicken wings. Along with veteran Kyle Okposo’s hat-trick against the Wings, performance by younger players is encouraging. Owen Power and JJ Peterka each had two assists on Thursday. They are the first rookie duo since November 12, 1991, when Kevin Haller, Ken Sutton and Brad May did so in one game. Overall, the Sabers are going full throttle on offense, averaging 4.00 goals per game, which is a high in the National Hockey League.
wind of freshness
Even if Buffalo stays in first place with eight points in a row, the continuation seems favorable. The club’s players also want to give a reason to smile to a population that has been going through difficult times lately.
“It was definitely a special evening. The atmosphere was incredible even during the warm-up. At first we were hooked and it felt good to play a game at home after what happened over the weekend: all the lives lost, the families going through difficult times, the first responders and people who worked collecting snow, Okposo told NHL.com. By playing in this city and feeling part of the community, we try to help it heal and stay united. We wanted to show that on the ice.”
The Sabers will look to extend their winning streak on Saturday, but things will be difficult when they visit home to the regular-time undefeated Boston Bruins.