The Buffalo Sabres improved to 2-0 after yet another impressive showing against the Los Angeles Kings. The Sabres rode a two-goal effort from Luke Adam to a 4-2 victory as the Vanek-Adam-Pominville line accounted for another pile of points.
A day after Vanek picked up two goals and an assist with Pominville and Adam accounting for five more points (1+4), Adam scored twice and his line mates picked up three more points. Drew Stafford and Paul Gaustad also scored for the Sabres. Ryan Miller saw 33 shots and turned aside 31 – this was the second-straight game he saw over 20 shots in the second and third period.
There will be a long week off for the Sabres before they open their home schedule against Carolina next Friday. A good portion of this week will be devoted to readjusting to the time change they had to shake a short time ago.
- Ryan Miller played his first set of back-to-back games this season and was sensational in both games. While the Kings went with their backup, the Sabres stuck with Miller after his 29 save performance on Friday. Expect to see Miller on Friday again with Enroth playing his first game on Saturday.
- The Sabres power play was slightly less effective this afternoon, but they still managed to get one goal in four tries. Buffalo is now three-for-eight in the young season. Having the ability to ice three different units is a major advantage for the Sabres. The Sabres’ current percentage is now 37.5%, I am expecting the power play to hover near 22% for most of the season.
- Luke Adam has all but cemented his spot with the Sabres for the entire season. He has four points (2+2) through two games and his skating has improved markedly from his brief debut last season. Adam meshes well with Vanek and Pominville and I expect the both of them to succeed with Adam as their pivot.
- Drew Stafford was probably the best player to not record a point over these two games. It was good to see him get a goal in this game to justify the effort he had put forward. Stafford looks fast and has been dynamic playing with Derek Roy and Nathan Gerbe. Considering that these three have never played on the same line, I expect to see them to build chemistry over the next week or two.
- The Christian Ehrhoff/Jordan Leopold pairing led the Sabres in ice time yet again. It looks as if the power play time both will receive will keep them on the ice for most games.
Three Stars
- Luke Adam: 2G, +2 rating
- Thomas Vanek: 2A, +1 rating
- Anze Kopitar: 2G, 5 SOG, +2 rating
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