After what seemed like an interminable mid-season break, and while Buffalo’s other team was busy cropping grass at Meadowlands, the Sabres returned to action with an offensive explosion against the worst team in the NHL, the Arizona Coyotes.
It was hard to tell if the Sabres were improved after their mini-holiday or if their opponents are truly awful, but it made for an open, end-to-end game for the most part with the hosts dominating the opening exchanges.
Robin Lehner kept the Sabres afloat with a couple of great one-on-one saves before Oliver Ekman-Larsson (can they just trade him to us already?