Whenever you shut out one of the best offenses in the league, you know you’ve done a good job on defense. And if you do that while allowing 35 shots, then you have to give some credit to the goalie.
Washington has gotten into the habit of pummeling every team they play with shot after shot. That’s how they win most of their games, they just keep pouring on the offensive pressure until they get a goal, and then they do it again.
However, it’s games like this that prove my theory that a solid goalie will beat any offense. That’s exactly how Buffalo shut out the Caps 3-0.
I would be a little more skeptical about the defense, except that this has been the story all year. Buffalo has continually run one of the best defensive systems in the NHL. Right now, they are ranked third in goals against per game behind New Jersey and Chicago.
A lot of that has to do with the solid goaltending of Ryan Miller, and a lot of it has to do with a solid defensive effort from the defenders themselves (and a little bit has to do with luck).
What we saw during the game against the Caps was a very simple strategy. We saw the Sabres run the ...
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Article written by Eric LaForge
Defense the Story As Buffalo Sabres End Washington’s Streak with Shutout
December 9th, 2009 by Eric LaForge Leave a reply »
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