SABRES END SEASON WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL OFFENSIVE EXPO, DEFEAT FLYERS
The Buffalo Sabres ended the 2024-25 season with a thrilling 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers last night. With both teams firmly out of the playoffs, neither was in tip-top shape. From the opening minute, you could tell this would be a long night of dangles and snipes with little defense played, a stark contrast from what was seen two nights ago.
Within the first four minutes of the game, Buffalo had recorded five shots on goal. On a rush led by Jason Zucker down the left wing, he flipped a saucer pass across the goal mouth, finding a streaking Alex Tuch, who tapped home the opening goal, 1-0 Buffalo just under five minutes into the game. Sustained zone presence for Buffalo was consistent throughout the opening frame.
Ten minutes later, Jacob-Bernard Docker flipped the puck out of play, resulting in a delay of game penalty. Off the faceoff, though, Peyton Krebs chased an errant pass into the Philadelphia zone, and beat the Flyer goaltender glove side to put the Sabres up 2-0, shorthanded.
As that penalty continued, however, Philadelphia set up with the extra man, and one of the most skilled young players in the league, Matvei Michkov, delayed long enough atop the slot to get James Reimer to fall to his knees. The Russian sniper went upstairs on Buffalo’s goalie, erasing that two goal lead less than a minute after the Sabres mustered it.
Less than two minutes later, Ryan McLeod pulled out the toe-drag of the year, dancing around a Flyer defenseman, slipping a pass across the crease, where Jack Quinn was waiting to knock home his fifteenth goal of the year, and extend Buffalo’s lead to 3-1, which would hold through the end of the first.
Out of the locker room, Buffalo was buzzing in the offensive zone. Less than two minutes into the middle period, JJ Peterka sniped a wrister past Kolosov, finishing off a two-on-one feed from McLeod. That put the Sabres on top 4-1, and the crowd on fan appreciation night wasn’t satisfied. Immediately, they were clamoring for a fifth Sabre goal. After killing off a Sabre power play, the Flyers attacked the teeth of the soft Buffalo defense, put on a passing clinic, and Michkov capitalized with a tap-in at the post to beat Reimer for the second time. That goal cut Buffalo’s lead down to 4-2, a few minutes before the halfway point of the game.
It was surely a game for the fans with the abundance of chances for the Sabres, who wore their black and red alternate uniforms. The only fan I felt bad for is the one that built a parlay as part of a promotional giveaway, and chose to include “a Sabre goalie will record 20+ saves.” With under six minutes left in the second period, James Reimer had only made six saves on eight Flyer shots. That fan must’ve enjoyed the flurry of chances for the Flyers late in the period, as Reimer had doubled his save total to 13 by the end of the second.
That Philadelphia pressure carried over through the intermission, as the Flyers pounced on the Sabres fifteen seconds into the third period with a breakout pass leading to a 3-on-2 rush. Bobby Brink found a cutting Tyson Foerster, who netted his 25th goal of the season. That tally cut into Buffalo’s lead once more, making it at 4-3.
As the halfway mark of the final frame approached, the Flyers missed a point shot from the near blue line, it hit the boards behind the Sabre net, bounced to the right post where a Philly forward collected it and quickly threw it on goal. Reimer sprawled, reaching from right to left, and made a miraculous save with his arm to keep it out. After a brief video review, it was revealed that the puck was kept out by a hair, as three-quarters of it had crossed the red line, but not entirely. The score remained 4-3 Buffalo, entering the final ten minutes of the season.
As part of the defensive effort by the Sabres in the third period, Alex Tuch blocked two Flyer shots, bringing his season total up to 112. That sets a new NHL record for shots blocked in a season by a forward, since the stat began being officially tracked nineteen seasons ago.
As the final frame wound down, Buffalo found themselves moving the puck well in the offensive zone, when the captain Rasmus Dahlin slipped a pass past a defending Flyer, toward the front of the net, where JJ Peterka had been knifing through, and the German forward redirected it home. Philadelphia, with nothing to lose, challenged the goal for goaltender interference. After video review, it was revealed that Jack Quinn had indeed been camped practically on top of the Flyer goalie.
After a subsequent media timeout, Philly entered the Sabres zone, when Tuch’s stick got caught up in the skates of Michkov, a clear tripping penalty with just three minutes left in the game. With the 5-on-4 man advantage, the Flyers spent more time in their own end than that of the Sabres. Once the kill was successful, Philadelphia pulled their goalie. Moments later, Ryan McLeod added the insurance to make sure the fans went home happy, scoring Buffalo’s fifth goal of the game. With less than twenty seconds left in the game, the Flyers did their best Lee Corso impression, saying “not so fast!” A shot from the point beat Reimer glove side to cut the deficit down to one goal once more. Despite a flurry of Philadelphia chances late, the Sabres found a way to preserve the win, 5-4 final.
With the victory, Lindy Ruff earned his 900th NHL win as a Head Coach.
TRE WHITE RETURNS TO BILLS
Beloved cornerback Tre’Davious White is coming home to Buffalo, signing a one year contract with the Bills.
The now 30-year-old defensive back spent seven seasons in the red, white and blue, after being a cornerstone draft selection for this era of Bills football back in 2017. White’s first stint in Buffalo came to an unfortunate, agonizing ending, that started with an ACL injury on Thanksgiving in 2021. After working through rehab for the next twelve months, White returned to play late in the 2022 season in a limited role for the Bills as a depth cornerback. With high hopes for a bounce back to his original pro-bowl level play in 2023, White started the first four games of the year, but in week four against Miami, White again injured his knee, ending his season. At the time, some thought that was the end of his career, but Tre White persisted, making a comeback in 2024 with the LA Rams, before he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens mid-season.
White’s one year, slightly-over six million dollar per year deal gives Buffalo some depth down the bench at corner, even if number twenty-seven doesn’t return to his peak form. It was Buffalo’s depth at corner that was ultimately their largest weakness in the AFC Championship last season.
The NFL Draft is less than one week away, so this signing certainly comes at an interesting time, as Buffalo is expected to be addressing their defensive needs across the board over the course of the three day extravaganza. The First Round will begin on Thursday Night in Green Bay.
BANDITS WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON IN GEORGIA TOMORROW NIGHT
Before the Bandits begin postseason play, Buffalo heads to the Peach State for one final regular season game against the Georgia Swarm tomorrow night.
Last season, the Bandits narrowly survived the Swarm in the first round of the NLL Playoffs, defeating Georgia 10-9 in overtime. There is much less at stake on Saturday, as the game is meaningless for Buffalo, for all intents and purposes. They’ve already locked up the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs with their thirteen wins. For their opponents, this game will determine quite a bit, as the Swarm are looking to clinch a postseason berth. With an 8-9 record, Georgia is one of five teams even in the standings, battling for the final three playoff spots. With the tiebreakers, it’s as simple as “win-and-in” for the home team tomorrow night.
Faceoff from Duluth, GA is set for 7:30 on Saturday night. Tickets are already on sale for the Bandits home playoff game for the first round, single elimination game, with their opponent to be determined this weekend.
BISONS BATTLE THROUGH ROUGH WEATHER, FALL TO SYRACUSE LAST NIGHT
Game two of the Bisons’ road series in Syracuse was postponed due to poor weather in Central New York, setting up a double header this afternoon. Last night, though, the Herd fell 2-0. Suffering both runs in the bottom of the first inning, Buffalo was unable to muster any offense in response. The Bisons were struck out fourteen times in total by the Mets pitching staff in a bullpen game, allowing just three Buffalo hits all night.
The twin bill today begins with game three of the series at 4:00, with game four following shortly after.
BATTLE OF ONTARIO IS SET, AS NHL OPENS PLAYOFFS TOMORROW
For some sports fans, the weekend marks the start of the most wonderful time of the year, with postseason play beginning in the National Hockey League. North of the border, the Toronto Maple Leafs gear up for the Battle of Ontario in the first round against the Ottawa Senators.
Toronto earned the top seed in the Atlantic Division with 108 points in the regular season. Led by 100-point scorer Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs are primed for a deep playoff run this season, finally not faced with the daunting task of playing one of the Florida teams in the opening round. The Panthers and Lightning have been a thorn in the side of the Maple Leafs for years, and if not them, it’s been the Boston Bruins who have made playoff hockey a nightmare for the blue and white. Boston, who sold most of their talent at the trade deadline, missed the playoffs entirely as the last team in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Ottawa Senators have clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2017, snapping a seven year drought. While they don’t have a point-per-game player, the Senators are loaded with skilled, youthful talent that fans have been waiting on a breakout season for. Finally, Sens fans have their wish. Perhaps it was the trade acquiring Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres that pushed Ottawa across the finish line.
This is the fifth time that the two teams in Canada’s most populated province square off in the postseason. The last time they met beyond the regular season was in 2004, when the Maple Leafs took the series four games to three. In fact, the meeting prior, in 2002, also went seven games, but still, Toronto has never lost a playoff round to Ottawa.
Game one of the Battle of Ontario is set for Sunday night at 7PM. Two series in the Western Conference drop the puck on game one tomorrow, with the Jets and Blues at 6PM, then the Stars and the Avalanche wrap up the night at 8:30.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
