Coming into the game, the Ducks had played just one game in the last 10 nights. There is no reason they shouldn’t have come out flying in this one. Well, they certainly did not. You could see why the Ducks are in last place in their division as they came out slow and had trouble connecting on passes.
The Ducks did get chances, but the bounces just didn’t go their way, which has been a story of late. They fired 25 shots on Chad Johnson through two periods of play, but the Sabres goaltender stopped every one of them, and he continued to.
Johnson set a record for most saves in a regular season shutout, surpassing Ryan Miller, who had 43 in 2012.
This was easily Johnson’s best game of the season as he earned a 44 save shutout. He looked confident in goal, making quick pad saves and being well-positioned for every shot.
When a goaltender doesn’t let in a goal, you don’t need to do much at the other end.
The Sabres 4th line scored the second goal after Evander Kane recorded the first one. Cal O’Reilly fed a beautiful saucer pass to Jack McCabe, who wristed in his third goal of the season.
“The second goal was big for us, they (Ducks) had carried the play for a bit during that period,” head coach Dan Bylsma said.
The assist was Cal O’Reilly’s first NHL point since Feb 5, 2012 and first as a Sabre.
“I saw McCabe coming down low and I just tried to get it to him,” Cal O’Reilly said.
Rasmus Ristolainen recorded an assist on the night and he is now the first Sabres defenseman with 19 points in 20 games since Garry Galley (2/21/96-4/3/96).
The Ducks showed up in the third, or at least they showed some effort. Anaheim started the period by outshooting Buffalo, 12-0. Evander Kane put an end to that streak with a shot 11 minutes into the period.
This was a nice team win for Buffalo, despite the fact that they gave up so many shots. They took advantage of an Anaheim team that has been struggling all season, and they were able to finish them off in the third period.
The Sabres will finish their three game homestand on Saturday as they host the Chicago Blackhawks. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m.