NASHVILLE – With the crowd inside Bridgestone Arena roaring in approval at every body check and each time the Nashville Predators touched the puck, the Buffalo Sabres didn’t break.
The returns of Alex Tuch and Kyle Okposo helped the Sabres frustrate Nashville with the same direct-to-the-net approach that had the Predators sitting atop the Western Conference at the start of play Thursday.
Amid a six-game skid, the Sabres will move closer to full strength Thursday with the returns of forwards Alex Tuch and Kyle Okposo and defenseman Robert Hagg.
Jeff Skinner silenced most of the building with a power-play goal in the second period, Aaron Dell had his best game in net since joining the Sabres and the club’s special teams pieced together one of their best performances of the season.
Right when it seemed the Predators might spoil the performance with a comeback, Skinner delivered the dagger with his second goal of the game to help the Sabres snap a six-game skid with a 4-1 victory in Nashville.
"Big team win," exclaimed Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. "We competed hard today. It gives us confidence that we can beat Nashville, who is a really good team."
The Sabres (11-19-6) were 0-4-2 in their previous six games, while Nashville (24-12-2) was 12-1-1 in its last 14 games and had won five straight. Dell made 29 saves for his first NHL win of the season. Mark Jankowski scored in the first period for the Sabres and Vinnie Hinostroza added an empty-net goal.
Buffalo was the better team from the start despite finishing with 21 shots on goal, but some untimely penalties nearly caused a big momentum swing. Buffalo’s penalty kill, which entered the game ranked 19th in the NHL, held Nashville scoreless on three of its four opportunities on the man advantage.
The Predators tied it 1-1 when Matt Duchene whacked a loose puck across the goal line amid a scramble in front of the Sabres’ net at 13:12 into the second period. Buffalo was outshot 13-5 in the second period, but Nashville couldn't manage a big enough push to mount a comeback and the Sabres' special teams were superior, particularly the penalty kill.
"Those are big moments in the game," said Skinner.
The Sabres power play scored for a fifth consecutive game when Okposo threaded a pass to Dylan Cozens in the slot and the ensuing shot left a rebound in front that Skinner corralled and backhanded in for a 2-1 lead with 1:42 remaining in the second period.
This wasn’t the Sabres’ prettiest performance of the season. It needed to be a worker-bee-like effort against Nashville, which has exceeded expectations this season by playing a hard, direct style that wears down opponents.
Buffalo wowed fans in October with a fast-and-furious style of play, but without two of its top forwards in the lineup – Thompson and center Casey Mittelstadt – the Sabres showed they can also win by frustrating a talented team on the forecheck.
"Very pleased," said coach Don Granato. "I felt our guys deserved the win. They worked for it. They earned it from the first drop of the puck all the way to Hinostroza’s goal. They battled and they stuck to a game plan."
There was also the remarkable play of Skinner, who is now on pace for a 30-goal season. He secured his 500th career point and a 3-1 Sabres lead when at the end of a long shift he gathered a pass from Tuch at center ice, crossed the blue line with a Predators player trailing and sniped a shot over goalie Juuse Saros’ glove at 7:59 into the third period.
"When he’s scoring goals, he’s happy," Dahlin said of Skinner. "When he’s angry and he competes out there, he scores."
Skinner’s goals, his 12th and 13th of the season, occurred after he was called for two minor penalties in a six-minute span. The Sabres, though, managed to overcome their mistakes in their best performance since before the holiday break and improved to 3-2-1 in their last six road games.
"We frustrated them and I think that was a big key for the win today," said Dahlin.
Here are other observations from the game Thursday night:
1. Back at it
This was an impressive return for Tuch and Okposo. Neither forward was able to do much off-ice work while in Covid-19 protocol, and there’s no way to simulate game speed during practice, yet they were among the Sabres’ best players in Nashville.
Both were key cogs on special teams, and Tuch was outstanding on the Sabres’ top line. Their return was an immediate boost for a club that looked overwhelmed in its 6-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.
Tuch led all Sabres forwards in ice time (19:34) while winning his first game with the team and assisted on Skinner's second goal. Okposo had two assists and nearly scored a power-play goal in the first period. Defenseman Robert Hagg was also solid in his first game since Dec. 14.
"Those are three beyond stabilizing players," said Granato. "They stabilized the game, but they make everybody else better."
2. Help from friends
With the score tied 0-0, a point shot by defenseman Mark Pysyk was tipped by Jankowski in the slot and the puck’s change of direction led to a rebound in front of Saros. Predators defenseman Matt Benning mistakenly put the puck into his own net, giving Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 5:30 into the game. Jankowski was credited with his first goal of the season.
Entering the game, the Predators had a plus-13 goal differential in the first period, while the Sabres’ was negative-18.
3. Around the boards
With a primary assist on the opening goal, Pysyk recorded his 100th career NHL point. … Jankowski’s goal was his first since April 8, 2021, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. … The Predators had a goal disallowed at 42 seconds into the second period because of offside on the offensive zone entry. ... Dell was called for a goalie interference penalty after delivering a body check while playing the puck. ... This was the Sabres' sixth game in 26 days.
4. Showing progress
Sabres center Peyton Krebs entered Covid-19 protocol along with Tuch and Anders Bjork on Jan. 4, yet Krebs has yet to return to the ice. Granato explained before the game that Krebs is “feeling good,” but hasn’t tested out of quarantine.
“Yeah, it’s really unfortunate,” Granato said. “We’ve been hoping the last four days now that he would test out based on how he’s feeling, but it hasn’t happened. It’s one of those unpredictable things. So he’s doing what he can. Obviously, he has to stay isolated, he hasn’t tested out, and keep himself in condition. But the longer he’s out, the longer it’s going to take him to get back into condition. That’s the frustrating thing for all of us and we’re frustrated for him.”
5. Next
The Sabres are scheduled to play the Red Wings in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
