Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres got stellar goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a late goal from Peyton Krebs, and an unbelievably skillful shootout goal from Jack Quinn to sink the Seattle Kraken, 3-2, on Saturday.
In was the first time the Sabres have ever beaten the Kraken in Buffalo in five tries.
Luukkonen was at his best making two shootout saves, but during regulation, he stopped 32 of 34 shots faced.
Some sloppy early play gave Seattle a 2-0, lead, but Luukkonen held down the fort, allowing his team to mount a comeback and break a three-game winless streak.
Krebs tied the game at 11:39 of the third period, leading a 2-on-1 rush. He actually shot the puck to prove, maybe to himself, that he does have a good shot, and the team was on its way.
Buffalo is now 8-1-3 in the second game of a back-to-back situation this season, and head coach Lindy Ruff says there are reasons for that.
"It's our maturity with managing the puck - not beating ourselves, staying in games, taking advantage of opportunities when they're there - but not doing anything crazy to create those opportunities,” said Ruff following Saturday’s win. “It's something we spend a lot of time on, about our puck management, which killed us last year. We've gotten so much better at it this year."
Part of the reason the Sabres have struggled recently is two of their centers have not played well for a while. Josh Norris has one goal and one assist for two points in his last 11 games, while Ryan McLeod has one goal in 27 games, and no goals in 12.
McLeod never seems to want to shoot the puck, and has one shot on goal in his last seven games.
"I don't think it's a big secret. I think the best place to go is inside and get around the net front, get there more consistently. I think their rush game is good, but I think the inside game just needs improvement,” Ruff said. “They need more inside chances."
McLeod doesn't have shots because he's never looking to shoot. Often he passes up Grade-A opportunities to pass to a covered teammate. He did hit the crossbar on Saturday as time was running out in the first period.
"A lot of times he's looking to Quinn, he's made a lot of really good plays to him. He's made a lot of good plays to [Jason] Zucker, and I think he's deferring a lot to passing,” Ruff acknowledged. “There have been times when he's between the dots and he's deferred to try to make a pass, and I already met with him today about it."
Saturday was a game where the Sabres did skate well, they did play hard, and they did produce opportunities.
Phillipp Grubauer made 34 saves in a losing effort, but was even better than Luukkonen at the other end. Grubauer is now 8-1-3 all-time against the Sabres.
The two goalies were, without a doubt, the first two stars of the game, but in Buffalo, it should be called the “Sabres’ Three Stars of the Game”, because out-of-town players are usually ignored. That was the case for Grubauer on Saturday.
Conor Timmins played really well in his first game back for the Sabres, but he's settled back into what he was before he was injured, and that's very inconsistent. He's, once again, turning the puck over at 5-on-5, and the eye test and the analytics say Zach Metsa is the better player.
Buffalo is in second place in the Atlantic Division with a points percentage of .662. The Tampa Bay Lightning are at .667, and host the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
The Carolina Hurricanes continue to lead the Eastern Conference with a points percentage of .681. Both the Canes and Bolts have two games in-hand on Buffalo.
Carolina is home Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Sabres are next in action on Tuesday when the New York Islanders come to town.
