Don't sleep on the Buffalo Sabres.
The Buffalo Sabres have won three in a row on the road for the first time since March 2012.
Dan Bylsma's club are heading home from their Sunshine State Sortie with two wins and four points against two game opponents in the Lightning and Panthers.
The Sabres defeated Tampa 4-1 on Tuesday night. On Thursday, 36 year old captain Brian Gionta led his young teammates into Sunrise where they decisively defeated the Panthers 3-2.
Not long ago, the Sabres owned a 2-7 record. They are now 8-8 and have scratched themselves back to a .500 record for the first time since April 2013.
The Sabres have now won three in a row for the first time this season and five of their last six games.
Off season free agent acquisition Cody Franson broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period with a clapper that beat Roberto Luongo, his second goal of the season.
Rookie goalie Linus Ullmark made 36 saves to help the Buffalo Sabres defeat a formidable foe in Florida.
Gionta scored his first goal of the season.
Samson Reinhart scored a power-play goal early in the third period.
Rasmus Ristolainen chipped in with two assists.
Ristolainen now has ten points this sseason, three behind Ryan O'Reilly for the team's scoring lead.
For the Cats, Jonathan Huberdeau and Vinny Trocheck scored for the Panthers (6-7-3), who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Huberdeau's goal was his first of the season.
Luongo had won his previous seven starts against Buffalo with a 1.00 GAA, made 15 saves.
****
Ladies and gentlemen. Please put your hands together and welcome Colorado Avalanche super center Matt Duchene to the NHL trade rumor mill.
Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Bob McKenzie were on TSN’s Insider Trading on Thursday evening. They discussed the report that Avs insider Adrian Dater published on The Bleacher Report on Thursday morning.
As it pertains to the struggling Colorado Avalanche, where there's smoke there's fire.
Dater spoke with Avs GM Joe Sakic in Boston. Sakic's team is in a bad way right now.
Sakic and Patrick Roy aren't necessarily denying the trade chatter that surrounds their team.
In 2013-14, the Avs finished third overall in the NHL standings with 112 points in the standings.
What happened to Colorado?
The Avs are in 27th place right now with a 5-9-1 record after finishing 21st overall with a 39-31-12 record last season.
Making the playoffs is a pipe dream right now for Sakic and Roy.
Clearly, the Avs are searching for answers. No. They will not be firing Sakic nor Roy. Their jobs are safe. Why, I don't know.
Sakic told Dater that Nathan MacKinnon, the franchise player, is off limits and will not be a trade consideration.
There are several players on the Avalanche who are coveted by rival GMs.
At just 24 years of age, Matt Duchene is a seventh-year pro who is not yet in his prime. In his last five games, Duchene has scored five goals and has 7 points. He can snipe and make plays like the best of them.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog has five years of NHL service and is a candidate to be traded.
Starting goalie Semyon Varlamov, who is nursing a groin issue, is a candidate to be shipped out as well.
Sakic's two highest-paid players are Duchene at $6 million per season and Varlamov at $5.9 million.
Both can be had, if the price is right, according to Sakic. "You're always talking with teams and you're always wanting to listen in on anybody" is to be taken literally.
"Any moves I might make...won't be for a quick fix," Sakic said. "We've got some good young players. Our moves are going to have to make sense down the line as well. It's tough to make deals in a cap world.
"The cap plays a big role for all teams. Some teams are already at the cap and some teams have their own internal budgets. Everybody deals with what they're allowed. It's tough to make that big trade; the money's got to even out. That's why you see a lot of deals still at the deadline. You can take on a couple months' salary if you think it's the right move. It's worth it if you really think you can win a championship."
The Ryan O'Reilly-Jamie McGinn trade to Buffalo certainly back fired on Sakic. While the Sabres have gotten an immediate bump from ROR and McGinn in their lineup, the Avs are still waiting patiently for their two young Russians to earn the trust of their head coach Patrick Roy. ROR has scored 4 goals and added 9 helpers in 15 games. McGinn has 3 G, 3As in 15 games.
At last check, Nikita Zadorov was playing in AHL San Antonio and Mikhail Grigorenko was skating in the fifth line. Prospect JT Compher is still playing well with the University of Michigan.
Sakic's ears are open and his iPhone is on. He wants to shake up his team. He needs a trade partner, or two.
"If there's a deal that makes sense for your organization, you're going to do it," Sakic said. "You don't want to move some guys, but you're always listening. Having had different conversations with different GMs, you know what? You're never not going to listen. But every team is the same. You have to hear things out, and see if they make sense."
On Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun commented on the Dater story regarding an Avs trade of Matt Duchene in the works.
“There is indeed. In talking to people around the league, his name is out there. There’s a lot of pressure on Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy with the Colorado Avalanche. They’re in last place for a second year in a row and they’re not going to stand by and do nothing this time. They’re not selling out games. It’s not working, what they have right now roster-wise, and outside of Nathan MacKinnon – who is untouchable – I think there are a lot of players available if the price is right.
“Now, will they trade Duchene for sure? No, not for sure. But they are calling teams about him. Teams are calling them about him. There’s something there.…
Darren Dreger added:
“One of the teams is the Ottawa Senators. Joe Sakic has reached out to Sens general manager Bryan Murray about 10 days ago to see whether or not the Senators would have interest in Matt Duchene. Now, the Senators are intrigued. Why wouldn’t you be. We know Bryan Murray has been looking for a top-6 forward, but the fit might not be there. But to say that they were surprised that the call came in specific to Duchene? Yes, they were. “
Might Tim Murray be front and center in a Matt Duchene trade discussion?
Murray has assets and trade currency.
Would Sakic want to do a deal again with Tim Murray so soon after the one-sided ROR trade?