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Nashville wins, but Neuvirth is making Buffalo pesky

Toronto Maple Leafs v Buffalo Sabres

Michal Neuvirth

NHLI via Getty Images

The Buffalo Sabres haven’t been that much better as a team lately - at least as far as any reasonable stat goes - but Michal Neuvirth is on such a hot run that it’s not as safe to write them off as an easy win.

Yes, the Nashville Predators won 2-1 via a shootout on Sunday, but they had to sweat this one thanks almost entirely to Neuvirth’s efforts. They trailed for most of the third period until Mike Ribeiro was the only Predator who could thwart Neuvirth in regulation (and on the power play, to boot).

Overall, Neuvirth stopped 37 out of 38 shots. While he’s still not really winning, just look at what the 26-year-old goalie’s done in February:

1-3-2 record, .944 save percentage, 1.93 GAA.

One almost wonders if Neuvirth might just play himself out of Buffalo, as his strong work may just be a threat to what many believe is a tank job.

In other words, there’s at least some room for concern that the Sabres’ bid for a guaranteed top-two pick could even hit a wall: