Observations: Top line, stronger defense help Sabres snap losing streak

MONTREAL – All the frustration and pressure that accumulated over 18 grueling days for the Buffalo Sabres seemed to evaporate Tuesday night with a wrist shot by Alex Tuch early in the first period at Bell Centre.

Tuch zipped the puck past Montreal Canadiens Jake Allen on the power play at 2:13 for the Sabres’ third goal, their second-fastest start to a game in franchise history. The home crowd was silent and distraught. The Canadiens were reeling.

Finally, after eight straight losses, the Sabres held a comfortable lead and didn’t need to press to try to create offense. The Canadiens’ sluggish start and poor defense allowed Buffalo to erupt for a three-goal lead.

This wasn’t a stress-free way to escape a losing streak, though. The Sabres gave Montreal six power plays and committed a few notable errors. Bolstered by the fast start to the game, and another dominant showing by its top line, Buffalo escaped with a 7-2 win in Montreal to climb out of an ugly stretch.

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Tuch, Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson combined for four goals and 12 points to give the Sabres (8-11) a matchup nightmare for Montreal. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin also had a goal and two assists, while rookie winger JJ Peterka snapped his eight-game goal drought.

This wasn’t the Sabres team we saw lose by multiple goals in seven of their previous eight games. Mattias Samuelsson, their shutdown, top-pair defenseman, returned to the lineup Tuesday night from a 13-game absence. Winger Tyson Jost, who was claimed off waivers from Minnesota on Saturday, provided sound defense at even strength and on the penalty kill.

Defenseman Henri Jokiharju is rounding into form after missing games. This was the first time since the third game of the season that the Sabres’ top-four defensemen were in the lineup.

The difference was a much better showing at even strength and special teams. The Sabres outshot the Canadiens, 38-31, and didn’t play conservatively after jumping out to an early lead. There was opportunity to create offense against Montreal (9-9-1), which is one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, and Buffalo took advantage.

Dahlin opened the scoring when he collected a pass from Thompson in the slot and finished with a wrist shot to make it 1-0 only 35 seconds into the game. Then, a lethargic shift by the Canadiens gave Dylan Cozens ample time to keep a rebound around the crease and Peterka capitalized for a two-goal lead.

A reckless hit from behind by Canadiens winger Michael Pezzetta on Rasmus Asplund put the Sabres on the power play and Tuch needed only 31 seconds to beat Allen to complete the remarkable surge to start the game.

There were still too many mistakes, though. Cole Caufield spoiled the shutout at 2:57 into the game with a high shot past Craig Anderson to cut the deficit to 3-1. Anderson was forced to stop six power-play shots in the first period alone. His teammates committed bad penalties.

But the Sabres showed a killer instinct that was lacking during the skid. Skinner made it another three-goal lead in the second period when he finished a perfect centering pass by Thompson. 

Jokiharju, Skinner and Thompson added key insurance goals in the third period, the first of which occurred because of an outstanding wraparound, backhanded pass by Tuch. Thompson has a team-high 13 goals and 26 points in 19 games.

General Manager Kevyn Adams, like coach Don Granato, emphasized the need for patience when speaking to reporters Monday. Adams said he’s uncomfortable but unwilling to make any sweeping changes to the youngest roster in the NHL, which he chose to not bolster with his salary-space.

Sixty-three games remain in the season, but no team since 2000 has lost eight in the row and made the playoffs. Their play over the previous three weeks has made the Atlantic Division standings a steep hill to climb. Buffalo is seven points behind third-place Tampa Bay following the win in Montreal.

Here are other observations from the game:

It’s time for the Sabres to sit Jacob Bryson. He’s a capable third-pair defenseman, as we’ve seen over the past year. But he’s not playing well right now and there are two other options to put next to Ilya Lyubushkin, most notably Lawrence Pilut. Bryson turned into a pylon in the second period when Monahan skated around him to get to a rebound for Montreal’s second goal.

This could simply be a crisis of confidence for Bryson. He was elevated into a bigger role with Samuelsson out, averaging 18:46 of ice time across those 13 games. A breather might help him reset.

We haven’t seen Dahlin at his best recently, Tuesday night included, yet he’s still finding ways to make a significant impact. He had two points in the first period, including a primary assist on Tuch’s goal, to increase his season total to 22 points through 18 games.

It’s clear that Dahlin is still battling the injury that kept him out of the lineup in Tampa Bay two weeks ago and, as Granato noted Tuesday morning, Dahlin is pressing the way he did early last season. The difference now is Dahlin doesn’t allow mistakes made out of competitiveness to snowball into an ugly night.

Tyson Jost didn’t need long to endear himself to teammates and fans. Jost, who was claimed off waivers Saturday, delivered a big hit on defenseman Chris Wideman that led to a quick shoving match between the two. Then, they dropped the gloves and Jost pulled Wideman to the ice to end the skirmish.

Jost, 24, skated on the Sabres’ top penalty-killing unit and even filled in for Tuch on the first line when the winger needed a breather. Jost intercepted a pass that would have been an easy power-play goal for Montreal early in the second period.

There’s no question that Jost will need to provide secondary scoring to carve out a role on this team. But he’s also going to have to play a physical game, whether it be blocking shots or finishing a check.

Granato didn’t have a simple answer when asked Tuesday morning how Peyton Krebs can begin to produce more and reestablish the confidence that he showed with the Sabres last season. Krebs, 21, was a healthy scratch Tuesday for the third time this season. He has three assists and only 10 shots on goal in 16 games. He hasn’t looked comfortable on the wing and doesn’t win faceoffs at center. He worked himself off the power play. There are times when he energizes teammates with his speed, but he’s not doing much when he has the puck.

There appears to be hesitation in his game. Remember, Krebs had only seven games of American Hockey League experience when he arrived in the trade last November. He’s an inexperienced player on a team with too many. A stint in Rochester could help Krebs get ice time and opportunity at center without the pressure of making mistakes in the NHL. Until then, the Sabres are trying to solve what’s slowed him.

“We’re looking at it, I guess (that’s the best way to put it),” Granato said. “So, it’s something that we will look further into. He’s working hard. He’s in the right places. I think he does the right thing. We’ve seen him practicing hard. Those are good. We need to … we will be looking and sitting down with him more. Hope to be able to give him more and him do more.”

The Sabres complete the back-to-back Wednesday night in KeyBank Center against the St. Louis Blues (10-8), who have won seven games in a row after losing eight straight. This is labeled as 90’s night with the Sabres wearing their black, alternate goathead jerseys. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is slated to start in goal for Buffalo.

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