The Tampa Bay Lightning were the latest playoff bound team to drop a game to the Sabres, this time in a 3-2 shootout.
BUFFALO — Entering Saturday night’s game, the Tampa Bay Lightning were 35-1-1 in games which they led after two periods. When they entered the third period against Buffalo, their 2-1 lead and having a full power play to begin the last 20 minutes seemed to make it fated they’d add another win to that record.
They’re now 35-1-2 in games they led after two periods thanks to Jason Zucker’s 20th goal adding to Tage Thompson’s 40th goal tying the game. A wild overtime session didn’t have a goal, but the shootout saw Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch seal it up for a 3-2 win that improved the Sabres record to 6-26-1 when trailing after two periods and their fifth straight win at home that improved their record at KeyBank Center to 20-14-3.
The Sabres playing the way they did on Saturday night is the team that Lindy Ruff envisioned they could be before the season. That they arrived in late-January and not sooner is bittersweet.
“We have work to do as a team,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Establishing the way we need to play, the way we need to manage the puck night in, night out-shift after shift and they’ve wrapped their arms around, we know where we’re at. But to become a better team you’ve got to take every period; every game you’re playing right now and use it as a steppingstone, and I think you’ve got to give them a lot of credit right now for digging in.”
Since the very arbitrary date of January 28, the Sabres are 15-10-1. If you want to sum it up since are more logical point, since returning from the Four Nations Face-Off break, they’re 11-9-1. They’re not last in the Eastern Conference anymore as the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins have dropped below them and now, they’ve again got the Pittsburgh Penguins within reach (two points) and the New York Islanders (four points) not far off either. Never mind the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings, teams being in the wild card race and such, five points ahead of them.
The Sabres stopped shooting themselves in the feet long enough to catch up to everyone else that was ahead of them who picked up the habit.
“I think we’re just trying to buy into the right things and do the right things consistently, and when you do that you give yourself a chance to have success,” Zucker said. “I think early in the year, it felt like we would do it for a game or two and then we would take a night or two or three off. It’s hard to find consistency that way. If you just focus on doing the little things right, as cliché as that sounds, it’s what works. You look at all the best teams in the league, they do the simple things really well and when they have the chance to make plays, they do it. I think that’s what we’ve been doing lately.”
More ahead from the first of two games this weekend…
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The game from the Sabres’ top line was one where you can see where things could be headed if the positive momentum they’ve gathered can continue beyond this season. Thompson was outstanding and having Zach Benson and Jiri Kulich there to help maintain possession, frustrate the Lightning with their forecheck, and create offense made a massive difference in the game. Having a line do that and force the opponents to feel pressure in their own zone and make mistakes is a clear case of the shoe being on the other foot and an example of how much the team has improved.
“We know how exhausting and how tough that is to play against, and I think when we do it to other teams, we know firsthand on how it feels,” Thompson said. “That gives us momentum and helps us just commit to playing that way for the full 60. I think sometimes we’ve gotten offtrack and kind of gotten bored of playing that simple style of hockey, and then we get too cute, and then usually let teams back into the game. But I thought this last stretch we’ve really matured and really committed to playing a complete game for an entire 60 minutes.”
How Benson has fit in with Thompson has been more than noticeable and it’s been appreciated by Thompson as well. Having an annoying puck hound like that who can then get the puck to either Thompson or Kulich to fire away is a huge win because it also keeps those guys off the wall or in the corners themselves.
“He’s a little rat and I love the way he plays,” Thompson said. “He’s hard-working, he moves his feet. It doesn’t matter the size of the guy he’s going against, he’s going to come out with the puck. For me when I’m playing with him, I just try to put it in areas where he’s going to be able to get it and I think you see that on that goal. He plays the puck into the corner, he goes in there, strips him, and makes a great play to me in the slot. He’s got some really good hands and some vision, and you pair that with his work ethic, and he’s a lot of fun to play with.”
Thompson’s 40th came after Benson picked the pocket of Tampa Bay defenseman Nick Perbix in the corner of the offensive zone. He snapped a pass to Thompson in the slot who gathered the puck, made a move to elude a defender, and ripped a shot past Lightning goalie, and former Sabres prospect, Jonas Johansson to tie the game 1-1 in the second period.
“Watching him shoot a puck and watching him handle a puck is something you admire as a coach,” Ruff said. “When he hits the odd shot that’s over 100 miles an hour and then can skate the way he can and handle a puck the way he can. I thought he was dominant tonight.”
It’s the second time in three seasons Thompson has broken the 40-goal barrier. His career-high of 47 in 2022-2023 may be tough to reach with seven games left to play, but with how he’s scoring of late and the way he can pile them up, never say never.
“Obviously, you set personal goals for yourself before the season starts,” Thompson said. “For me, that was one of them. Obviously, the individual stuff is always second, the team stuff’s always first, and I think individual success is a byproduct of how you play as a group. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a lot of skilled players that have made my life a lot easier and help me get to that plateau.”
Thompson’s goal wasn’t the only even-numbered milestone marker of sorts, Zucker’s third period goal was his 20th of the year. It’s the seventh time he’s cracked the 20-goal barrier and the first time since he had 27 with the Penguins in 2022-2023. His career-high of 33 in 2017-2018 won’t be touched, but after being the Sabres’ big offensive signing of the summer, his contributions to the team have been excellent, especially since he’s 33 and you never really know what you’ll get from players after they turn 30.
Speaking of older players, there’s James Reimer as well. His raw stat line of 22 saves on 24 shots along with stopping both shooters he faced in the shootout won’t get a lot of attention, but ye gods did the Lightning have a lot of Grade-A chances he snuffed out.
“Honestly, he’s about to turn into dust with how hold he is so I’m surprised that we’re getting it, but it’s been fun to see,” Zucker said. “He’s a heck of a guy, he’s a hell of a teammate, had an amazing career and he’s showing why right now.”
Reimer came up with the big stops in moments where things got nervy from pucks bouncing around the net and into dangerous areas to turnovers in the zone that instantly became shots on goal. He’s won six straight starts and it’s clear his performance has instilled a lot of confidence into the guys in front of him. All of those things are basically 180-degrees opposite of what we’ve seen from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen since the Four Nations break and why Reimer has gotten more starts.
“First off, you’re just trying to stay in the moment,” Reimer said. “Every game’s going to be different. I’ve played I don’t know how many games, and no two have been the same. So, you prepare leading up to the game, and then when it comes to gametime, you just trust the work you put in and the talent the good lord gave you. And then you go from there.”
There’s a Big McLargehuge conversation to have about goaltending for next season surrounding Luukkonen, Devon Levi, and whoever else might factor into the equation and we’ll pocket it for another time, especially since Luukkonen will more than likely start against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night. It’s not a must-win start for Luukkonen, but instead it’s a you-better-play-your-ass-off game.
It’s been tough to see Luukkonen fight the game the way he has. The confidence between the guys in front of him and vice-versa hasn’t been there and it’s been very apparent in some games. If he gets a few big saves early, things should be steady. If not, it might get dicey. Boston comes into town living high despite being officially eliminated from playoff contention after a 5-1 win against Carolina.
Saturday’s game featured the NHL debut of the third Sabres first-round pick from 2022 Draft to reach the big leagues, Noah Östlund, joining Matthew Savoie and Kulich. The No. 16 pick got the call to join the team on Thursday following Tyson Kozak’s lower-body injury he sustained against Ottawa that will have him out week-to-week according to Ruff. Östlund played on the fourth line with Beck Malenstyn and Sam Lafferty but also got action on the second power play unit to put his offensive skills and ability to better use.
With how well the Sabres’ other three lines have played, upsetting that flow to get Östlund a clearer role with more offensively inclined players wasn’t the move and having him hop right into Kozak’s spot makes sense for what will ultimately be a short visit with how few games are left and whether or not we see Josh Norris or Jordan Greenway return this season.
“I thought he played well,” Ruff said. “I would have liked to (get) out there a little bit more. We had him on that second power-play unit, got a little tight down the stretch. They were playing three lines, so we just started playing three lines. But he’s going to play some hockey for us, so it was a great start. Got a win in his first NHL game. I thought he had plays inside the D-zone that you really like. He read the plays well, didn’t get himself in any trouble.”
Östlund played 8:37, took a minor for tripping and was credited with a takeaway and was 0-for-1 at the dot.