Buffalo Sabres aiming for another victory by crushing Dallas Stars – NHL Preview
Whenever one starts thinking of Buffalo Sabres as a franchise full of disasters and failures, an outstanding performance from the team stuns every critic.
The recent victory against Boston Bruins on the home ice is its perfect example and now hoping to get the same result, Buffalo is hosting Dallas Stars in a National Hockey League (NHL) game on Friday, February 10, 2012, at First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo completely outclassed the second ranked team of the NHL Eastern Conference, Boston Bruins, in its last encounter.
The Sabres scored two goals each in all the three periods to end the game with a six-goal lead.
Jason Pominville scored twice for Buffalo, whereas goaltender, Ryan Miller, saved 36 shots to get his third shutout of the current season.
Pominville said after the victory:
“We're not going to back down. Guys stepped in. Some of them played out of character. Everybody did different things to help us win. And that's what a team is all about."
If Buffalo keeps on following the recent pattern, it will be hard to ignore this team from the playoff contention.
Currently on a two-game winning streak, Buffalo is ranked at 13th spot in the Eastern Conference with 52 points after 53 games.
Like Sabres’, Stars’ chances of reaching the playoffs too cannot be dismissed.
Dallas is ranked at ninth spot in the Western Conference with 58 points after 53 games.
A few more victories can bring Dallas into the top eight teams of the conference and would give them a safe passage into the postseason.
However, to do so, Dallas has to exhibit determination and dedication.
In its last game, Dallas overcame Columbus Blue Jackets rather easily. Stars scored in every period and the final score settled at 4-2.
Stars’ defenseman, Alex Goligoski, has said that the competition is tough with all the other teams eyeing the playoff spot.
He has urged his teammates to perform exceptionally well throughout the rest of the season to secure the playoff spot.
He said:
"It's going to be tough. Every year is, those last 30 games of the year. Everybody's fighting for position. And you've got other teams fighting for other reasons, for jobs and whatnot."
Both the sides are evenly matched, but the recent victories have given Sabres a slight edge.
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