BILLS LOSS TO PATRIOTS HELPS MORE THAN IT HURTS
With mostly reserves playing throughout the game, the Buffalo Bills lost to the New England Patriots 23-16 to end the regular season.
The game appears inconsequential for Buffalo, but with the result, New England’s draft position was worsened, which could in turn help the Bills down the line. Not only was the Pat’s selection affected, but the front office was sent into disarray, as New England fired their Head Coach Jerrod Mayo immediately after the game, as Mayo’s first and only season at the helm concluded.
With the upcoming draft featuring some high level talent expected to go in the top 3 picks, with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, and a pair of quarterbacks, Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. Before this week of games, New England was in line to likely get the number one overall selection with a loss. Thanks to Coach Mayo’s parting gift to the Pats, New England is now slotted to pick 5th overall in the upcoming draft, likely missing out on the top quarterback prospects. This loss for the Bills could very well prove to be a long term victory for the AFC East’s five time defending champs.
BILLS SET TO HOST DENVER IN WILDCARD ROUND
With their dominant, 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs backups, the Denver Broncos locked up the final playoff spot in the AFC, setting up a Wild Card Round matchup with the second seeded Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.
Denver is dangerous, with a rookie quarterback, yes, but one that has played well beyond his age this season. Not to mention their top-of-the-league pass rush and run defense, all led by a Head Coach who has won a Super Bowl.
The Broncos are no push over for the first round, Buffalo will have to bring their A-game on both sides of the ball.
Kickoff for the Bills / Broncos Wild Card game has been set for Sunday afternoon at 1PM.
SABRES LOST THIRD STRAIGHT, ZUCKER HAS EMERGED AS TEAM MVP
The Buffalo Sabres lost 3-1 at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, ending their four game, Western Conference road trip with three consecutive losses. As the team approaches the midway point of the regular season, there are plenty of decisions that are at the top of the priority list for the organization.
Buffalo (14-21-5) stands last in the Eastern Conference 40 games into the season. While they are “only” eight points out of the final wild card playoff spot, leapfrogging eight teams in 42 games is entirely improbable and nearly impossible.
One month ago to the date, General Manager Kevyn Adams told the media that the answer to the Sabres’ problems was in the room and that he would “go to war with those guys.” I feel it is important to keep bringing this up as there have still been zero roster moves since that press conference, despite the team going a whopping 3-9-2 since that presser.
While there may be examples of individuals who could very well be a part of the solution moving forward (hello, Jason Zucker), there are clearly not enough of those players in the room as it stands today. The Sabres are simply too easy for opponents to play against. That’s what a broad view shows you almost every time they take to the ice.
Zucker has been one player that has consistently been the opposite, his tenacious effort and attitude would make him one of the most beloved Sabres in recent memory if the team was competitive and in the playoff race. With a goal in each of the four games on this road swing, including a hat trick at Colorado, Zucker has made a fool of the naysayers that were sure he was a low-impact player upon signing a one-year deal with Buffalo this offseason.
Alas, Zucker is on pace for his best season in nearly a decade, with 15 goals and 31 points, including a career-best 8 power play goals. His signing may go down as one of the best free agency pick-ups in franchise history, but the team’s record may force the Sabres to trade Zucker away at the deadline.
The positive of that scenario? Given the resurgence he’s had this season, Buffalo could get a pretty good haul from a Stanley Cup contender in exchange for the veteran winger.
The negative for the Sabres is that they do not need more picks and prospects to accomplish their goal of ending the playoff drought in the near future. I would counter that by saying, with a savvy general manager, they could flip Zucker for as many valuable assets as they can at the deadline, while working on deals to swap roster players with another middling team, using said acquired assets as incentives to take on a current rostered player.
Fans online have been clamoring for Buffalo to extend Zucker beyond this season, but unless they were to overpay for a player having a career season (sound familiar?), it would make the most sense for both the player and the organization to move on before Zucker’s value is lessened by his birthdate. He’ll be 33 in ten days. If Zucker is willing to remain in Buffalo and be a part of the solution, he may be setting himself up to see hefty changes in the Sabres front office, and perhaps on the coaching staff this summer, if they are to finish in the basement of the standings.
Buffalo is at home tonight, as they host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. If not for the Sabres, I encourage hockey fans to make it to KeyBank Center tonight to witness Ovechkin in his historic chase of Wayne Gretzky’s all time goal record, as the Great 8 is just 23 goals away from setting a new mark in the league’s history books. Puck drop from downtown Buffalo is slated for 7PM tonight.
USA WINS GOLD AT WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Team USA is bringing the gold medal back home as they claimed victory over Finland in overtime, 4-3, of the Men’s World Junior Hockey Championship.
Last night in Ottawa, the Americans overcame a 3-1 deficit to the Finns in the second period, tying the game before the final frame. In a defensive third period, neither team could find the back of the net, sending the gold medal game to overtime. Teddy Stiga, a forward from Boston College, found himself behind the Finnish defense, ripped a wrister and won the Americans gold. With their selected goal song, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, blaring in the background, Team USA mobbed the 18-year-old from Massachusetts as the celebration began for the back-to-back World Juniors champs.
It’s the first time that Team USA has won gold in back-to-back years. Finland heads home with the silver, while Czechia capped off a tremendous WJC, after eliminating Canada, they defeated Sweden in a shootout thriller for the bronze medal.
