Buffalo atmosphere won’t be too much for Sabres anymore

The Buffalo Sabres have the Boston Bruins on the ropes after two strong games in Boston, but now they return to Buffalo where things were a bit shakier. They needed a comeback to win in Game 1, and Boston was the stronger team in Game 2, as the Sabres were overwhelmed by the atmosphere of playoff hockey in Buffalo for the first time in 15 years.

So with the chance to advance to the second round with a win, will the Sabres be able to handle the Buffalo atmosphere better? Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton talk about how the Sabres’ road play should make for a much easier home experience this time around on Daily Faceoff Live.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I think that atmosphere was almost a little overwhelming for the Buffalo Sabres, and it almost got them away from the game that made them so successful in the regular season.

I think Lindy Ruff also deserves a ton of credit for having that team on the road playing as well as they did. But I think they’ve learned their lesson. I don’t think the atmosphere will be too much for them. I think Buffalo wins tonight. What about you?

Carter Hutton: Yeah, I’m with you there too. I believe that was a key factor here, getting away from KeyBank. The pressure, the magnitude, then you go out there, they look like a different team in Boston. It looked like they were free, they were forechecking. And I circle back to Game 4 where everything they created was off of turnovers. It was just hounding pucks, simplistic play.

Sometimes less is more and you get away from home and you just don’t need to wow a team and you find your game, it can be powerful, and that’s when it starts to snowball. I think that’s the trust of the lineup, there’s no hesitation on who’s going or who’s F1 or who’s coming at me second. I think now Buffalo is playing in the waves that they can because they have so much speed. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.

You can watch the full episode here…