Clutch kills in the 3rd
A 4-for-4 night has the Sabres’ penalty kill at an NHL-best 90.5 percent this season. With Saturday’s game tied 3-3 in the third period, the unit had perhaps its best showing yet.
Buffalo killed back-to-back minors early in the third, then another with three minutes remaining. As Ruff pointed out, the Capitals didn’t muster a single scoring chance on those three power plays, and they registered just one total shot on goal.
“That’s how good they were,” Ruff said. “I thought our clears were excellent. I thought (Mattias) Samuelsson, all night, was a beast when it comes to the killing and blocking shots.”
Samuelsson (4:43), Conor Timmins (4:45), recent addition Jordan Greenway (4:14) and Ryan McLeod (3:45) each shouldered heavy shorthanded loads, especially with Tuch, a mainstay on the kill, in the box for that last penalty. With those guys, among others, the Sabres boast the personnel for continued shorthanded success going forward.
“That’s been the whole season, I think, how well we’ve been killing penalties and how well the guys are ready to put themselves on the line – block shots and make plays on the penalty kill,” Luukkonen added. “I think it’s been awesome to see.”