Nashville, Tenn. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres jumped out to an early 4-0 lead Tuesday in Nashville against the Predators, thanks to their new young line of Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius.
However, they had to apply lessons learned in the past to leave Nashville with a 5-3 win.
After they chased Predators starting goalie Juuse Saros in 24:40 of action, Buffalo fell apart with their structure and Nashville took over. Saros made 14 saves on 18 shots, while Justus Annunen stopped all 13 shots he faced in 34:09 of action.
Alex Lyon came back from injury that had kept him out of the crease since Dec. 29, but stepped up in that second period to help his team find a way to win. Tuesday's win was his eighth-straight victory.
The Sabres held on and got to the second intermission still up 4-2. The new maturity of this team continues to show, and they regathered and calmed things down in the third.
Buffalo got caught in the third giving Nashville a 3-on-2 rush, making it 4-3, but they started doing the little things necessary to win hockey games.
Peyton Krebs put it away with an empty net goal at 18:14, and that’s the important thing. It’s a back-to-back situation on the road, don’t make excuses, even if part of the game is your “B” game. You must find a way to win, and I think they’re much better with that.
Now the kid line.
Radim Mrtka was the Sabres' first-round pick this past June, but the three first-rounders in the three years prior are now all on the same line. The elder statesman is 21-year-old Ostlund, while Benson is 20 and Helenius is 19.
In just his second NHL game, Helenius got his first two NHL points, assisting on two Ostlund goals to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.
After the game, Ruff said he already trusts Ostlund to be on the ice in any situation. He’s already treating the rookie like a veteran.
Helenius then got his first NHL goal when he wired a shot from the slot over Saros’ glove and under the crossbar. Saros was clearly shocked at what a good shot it was, and Helenius couldn’t get the smile off his face scoring on the No. 1 goalie from Finland.
Even though the game was being played in the middle of the night in Finland, Helenius said his family was watching.
Buffalo is in Montreal, but had Wednesday off from practice. The win got the team’s points percentage back over .600, at .602. That’s good for the No. 1 Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
Be sure to follow Pat Malarcaro (@PatWGR), as he’ll have coverage for you from Montreal. I’ll be with Brian Koziol in Buffalo before heading to New York for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Islanders.
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