The Buffalo Sabres snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the Florida Panthers 4-3 at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night. The blue and gold won the game without their captain, and 2019 NHL All-Star, Jack Eichel. He will also miss Saturday's game in Boston due to an upper-body injury.
Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson got the ball rolling with goals in the first 10 minutes of the first period. Sam Reinhart added a goal in the third period, while Skinner sealed the deal with his game-winning goal with 3:46 to go in regulation.
In goal, Linus Ullmark picked up his ninth win of the season, turning aside 35 of 38 shots faced in another solid performance for the Sabres.
Let's go inside the locker room and see what Thompson, Ullmark, Skinner and Phil Housley had to say following the victory:
Tage Thompson:
On finally beating Florida: "That was our focus going in. Last time we played them we didn't like our game so tonight we played a full 60."
On the team stepping up without Eichel: "Missing Jack is a huge hole, but our guys did a nice job stepping up tonight ."
Linus Ullmark:
On winning in a tight game: "We got a little unlucky on the third goal, but the guys really stepped up in the third period."
On puck luck tonight: "I wish we can have the puck luck every game. We just have to keep on grinding and hope that continues."
Jeff Skinner:
On getting on the board early: "It was big. Nice to get that start and get the crowd into it. The PK did a good job and those little moments give us momentum. We did a good job connecting as a 5-man unit and its a good recipe for us."
On the team snapping their 3-game losing streak: "It's a lift. We don't have a fragile group and despite having that losing streak, we never got down because it's a hard league. We did a great job responding as a team."
Phil Housley:
On battling adversity: "I liked our game for the full 60 minutes. We executed well and attacked the game with Skinner and Thompson's early goals. We then recognized we needed to make the right plays and we didn't panic, despite the adversity we faced in the last three games."
On Yandle's no-call that lead to a goal: "It was incidental contact. I thought there was a similar non-call earlier, but they also called a 5-on-3 for us where didn't score there so.."
On guys emerging without Eichel: "I think it was important that everyone else contributed. It was good to see Skinner score two and Reinhart get on the board. We are going to need them at this point of the season. This is a great test for us."
