4 check: Sabres finish strong at home, attendance stagnant

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — After being eliminated from playoff contention for an NHL record 13th year in a row, the Sabres sent their fans home with a consolation prize Thursday night, winning their home finale 4-2 against the Washington Capitals.

It was a crowd-pleasing affair, as Alex Tuch tallied his 22nd goal for Buffalo, 18-year-old rookie Zach Benson tipped in his 10th, Jack Quinn adding a gorgeous goal in the third that turned out to be the winner, his eight goal in 25 games of an injury-riddled campaign, Dylan Cozen scoring his 16th into an empty net, and Tage Thompson getting into a slugfest with Washington’s Max Pacioretty during a 5-on-5 brawl that frenzied the Sabres faithful at the final horn.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves in improving to 27-22-3, the best mark for a Sabres goaltender since Ryan Miller went 31-21-7 in the first season of the playoff drought.

Home stretch

Buffalo concluded its home slate with a 21-19-1 record, going 10-6 after the All-Star break and winning nine of the last 12. It’s a noted improvement from year ago, when with a better overall record, the Sabres had one of the worst home records in history.

“I thought we all elevated in this building and it helped us make somewhat of a playoff push at the end,” Tuch said. “We got to make this a tough building to come in and play in.”

Coach Don Granato said, “That’s an absolute positive that you finish with that record at home. They know it. Henri Jokiharju was handed the sword for the player of the game in that locker room, and he said very little, but he did reference the fact that it was big to win at home and we need to do that next season. So, clearly that locker room is very well aware of that.”

Counting the house

The Sabres announced attendance on Fan Appreciation Night was 15,454, just below their season average of 15,481.

That’s 84% of arena capacity, which is a notch above last season (82%), but still the second-lowest figure in the NHL. And there was a partisan crowd many nights, with visiting fans often accounting for a large number of tickets sold.

Closing out

The Sabres finish the season in Florida, visiting the Panthers on Saturday, and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.

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