Mike Harrington: Whipping of Winnipeg is the kind of business Sabres have to take on the road
Nine goals against Chicago was a fun one to watch, but this was probably the season's most complete performance. And it came against what is supposed to be an elite
From time to time late in games or after the buzzer in KeyBank Center, we've heard Bachman–Turner Overdrive's 1973 ditty "Takin' Care Of Business" as the backdrop to a contest the Sabres have under wraps.
Didn't notice the song Monday but it would have been an appropriate tune. The Sabres did everything they needed and whatever they wanted to do in a 5-1 grounding of the hapless-looking Winnipeg Jets.
(Quick Aside: Shout-out here to my compadres from the Griffin newspaper at Canisius College, where the tune became a trademark of our late-night production sessions in the 1980s.)
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram (4) celebrates his goal in the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at KeyBank Center on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Joed Viera/Buffalo News
You've got checkmarks all over the place for this performance. Scoring. Defense. Passing. Goaltending. Speed. A power play goal. A perfect penalty kill. And a big blue check for the three-point return of Josh Norris to the lineup after 24 games on the shelf.
Nine goals against Chicago was a fun one to watch, but this was probably the season's most complete performance. And it came against what is supposed to be an elite opponent. More on that in a moment.
The Sabres put this one on ice early, with two goals in a 15-second span in the opening 3:01 from Jason Zucker and Bowen Byram. Norris made it 3-0 by the end of the first to send old friend Eric Comrie to an early seat on the bench and absolutely toasted Jets rookie Thomas Milic with a backhand deke that went 5-hole for the game's final goal and a highlight clip that ruled the night in the league.
"I thought our puck movement was real crisp," said coach Lindy Ruff. "Passes were on the tape and we made a lot of great passes heading up ice. I just felt like we were a step ahead."
Indeed, the Jets were left behind all over the ice the entire game.
"It was a night where we were really connected," Ruff said. "There wasn't many passes you could point to where you could say, 'Boy that wasn't a good pass.' The puck was faster than the players, so I thought that part of the our game was excellent."
"It's something we're really good at," goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen said of the speed. "When we play well, it's a strength of ours. I feel like we have to be able to bring that to more games, but it was really fun to watch tonight."
Winnipeg was playing its fourth game of a five-game road trip that ends Wednesday in Montreal − and its first game back home is Friday against the Sabres. But you can't provide the Jets road fatigue as an out for as desultory a performance as this one was.
Coach Scott Arniel called it embarrassing and captain Adam Lowry closed the dressing room doors after the game so players could chew the fat on it.
Said Arniel: "We're a veteran group, we recognize that we just embarrassed ourselves and we're going to have to be a heck of a lot better in the next one."
The Sabres are 9-5-2 at home, where they've been a bit of an all-or-nothing unit. The five losses are three shutouts and two one-goal games. But Monday's cakewalk was the already the sixth time this season they've won by three or more at home. They entered Tuesday's games with 53 goals in KeyBank, tied with Toronto for second in the league behind the wagon that is Colorado. Remind me how exactly the Sabres lost to both St. Louis and Calgary here?
In a game that went coast to coast in Canada on Amazon Prime, the Jets were simply brutal. Last year's Presidents' Trophy winners can't just curl up into a ball because Hart/Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is out following knee surgery but that's what they did.
Poor Eric Comrie. The former Sabre wasn't good enough in net but he got no help. The Jets' top players were mostly no-shows.
Leading scorer Mark Scheifele (13 goals, 31 points) didn't have a shot on goal in the game and won only four of 12 faceoffs. Kyle Connor, who signed an eight-year, $96 million contract extension just prior to the season opener in October, got Winnipeg's only goal on a net deflection but had just one other shot on goal all night.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins (21) and Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele (55) reach for the puck in the second period at KeyBank Center on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Joed Viera/Buffalo News
Norris Trophy finalist Josh Morrissey had one shot on goal and no hits. Eden native Alex Iafallo had one shot and was one of four Jets who were minus-2. Lowry had no shots on goal, and this version of former Chicago captain Jonathan Toews (two shots, no points, no hits) was unrecognizable.
Credit the Sabres for taking what was supposed to be an elite opponent and turning them into a bunch of retreads. For all this talk about Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh aging out, Winnipeg had the look of an over-the-hill gang.
The Sabres made them look that way. But now they're going on the road, where they have just two wins all season, for six games in 13 days. Saturday night's shootout victory in Minnesota could be a big jump-start in that area.
The sojourn starts Wednesday night in Philadelphia. And it will be fascinating to see how much payback the Jets can get Friday night at home.
"Just keep going. Just keep going," winger Alex Tuch said, repeating his point with a purpose. "Don't think too much ahead. Don't think too far behind. Take the positive out of this game and roll with it. Let's just be ready to go for the next one."
Takin' care of business indeed.