How the Buffalo Sabers fared against the Anaheim Ducks in 2023/2024

Heading into the 2023/2024 regular season, the Buffalo Sabers and Anaheim Ducks were expected to go in two different directions. For Buffalo, they were hoping to end the playoff drought after missing the playoffs by just one point the previous year. As for Anaheim, that was a different story.

Even with talent like Trevor Zegras, the Ducks were considered a rebuilding team and would find themselves at the bottom of the standings. So how did the Sabers fare against Anaheim? Spoiler alert, not so good. The first meeting between the two teams took place in January, as Buffalo began its road trip to California.

The first two periods did not go the way of the Sabres, who led 3-0 before the last 20 minutes of play. Buffalo finally found the score in the final minutes of the third period thanks to goals from Jordan Greenway and Kyle Okposo. After the former Sabers captain scored, Buffalo still had 2:56 left to tie the score.

However, Adam Henrique put the nail in the coffin with the empty-net goal as the Ducks won the opener 4-2. Nearly a month later, they finished their season series in Buffalo for a President’s Day matinee.

Greenway gave the Sabers a 1-0 lead before Henrique tied the game about a minute later. The second period saw the rest of the match score. On the power play, Buffalo regained the lead thanks to Tage Thompson. It only lasted a few minutes as Anaheim took the lead after Frank Vatrano scored twice.

Less than a minute later, Sabers rookie Zach Benson tied the score to make it 3-3. With less than two minutes left in the period, Troy Terry scored what would be the game-winning goal, and the Ducks swept their season series with the Sabres, winning 4-3 in that game.

Getting swept by a team is one thing, but getting swept by one of the worst teams in the league is not something you want to experience. While there were other losses throughout the season, it’s possible that the season series with Anaheim cost Buffalo crucial points that could have been vital to making the playoffs.