Sabres finally bailed out by power play as win streak reaches 3: Takeaways from St. Louis
Finally, the Sabres’ special teams came through. Jason Zucker delivered a power-play goal for the game-winner and their penalty kill went 4-for-4 as they extended their win streak to three games with a 4-2 victory over the Blues.
Whether it was the early start time Sunday afternoon, or the size and speed of their opponent, the Sabres looked slow throughout their game in Enterprise Center.
Too many breakout passes were intercepted. Too many puck battles were lost. The combination prevented them from attacking offensively the way that they did in their previous two games, when they produced 13 goals in routs of the Islanders and Blackhawks.
Buffalo Sabres' Peyton Krebs (19) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues,
Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in St. Louis. Scott Kane/Associated Press
The numerous mistakes allowed the St. Louis Blues to roar back from a two-goal deficit, and they appeared to be on the verge of taking the lead in the third period when a moment arrived that Lindy Ruff had been waiting to see from the Sabres since their season began in Prague nearly three months ago.
Finally, the Sabres’ special teams came through. Jason Zucker delivered a power-play goal for the game-winner and their penalty kill went 4-for-4 as they extended their win streak to three games with a 4-2 victory over the Blues.
“Our special teams won us a game,” Ruff said after the Sabres improved to 14-19-4. “That’s something we’ve been dying to see all year. That power play goal in the third period was something that’s been missing.”
The Sabres had only 14 shots on goal when Blues forward Zack Bolduc took a cross-checking penalty with the score tied 2-2 and 10:44 remaining in regulation.
Scoring first hasn’t been an issue for Buffalo this season. It has done so in 22 of 35 games, and it has eight first-period goals over its last three games. But the Sabres’ inability to take advantage of scoring chances, including power plays, is one reason why they haven’t been able to protect and build on leads.
The power play is 2-for-24 in the Sabres’ nine one-goal losses, and it entered Sunday ranked 29th in the league and amid a 4-for-44 slump across its previous 17 games. They had a chance to take a 3-0 lead in the first period against the Blues, but Alex Tuch’s high-sticking penalty ended the power play and St. Louis scored its first goal moments later.
Peyton Krebs missed the net on a breakaway in the second period and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington stopped Zach Benson on one several minutes later. Bolduc’s penalty may have been the Sabres’ final chance to halt the Blues’ push.
The power play has been the focus of countless practice drills and video meetings, yet Zucker’s goal that gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead wasn’t the product of a play created by the coaches or players. Jack Quinn kept the puck in the offensive zone, Owen Power connected with Tage Thompson on a tape-to-tape pass near the blue line, then the latter passed down low to Quinn, who set up Zucker for the one-timer from the left hashmark.
Zucker’s quick, low shot beat Binnington at the far post with 9:30 left in regulation. It was only the second time through 35 games that Buffalo scored multiple power-play goals. Tage Thompson’s snapshot from the slot on the man-advantage put the Sabres ahead 2-0 in the first period. Jiri Kulich added a highlight-reel insurance goal with 3:41 remaining to ensure they’d win their third game in a row for the third time this season and first time since Nov. 5-9.
“A couple weeks ago that would have been a really tough loss for us,” Zucker said after his 10th goal of the season. “We learned from it and we’re kind of finding what we call a B game. We definitely didn’t have our best and I think that was a good sign for us.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen outplayed Binnington, as the Sabres’ No. 1 goal stopped 35 of 37 shots. Luukkonen made 11 saves in the third period and seven during their four penalty kills. The Blues (17-17-4) had 4.2 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick, but Luukkonen made the initial save on both goals that he allowed.
Nathan Walker converted a rebound to tie it 2-2 with 14:04 left in the third period after Luukkonen’s spectacular save on Colton Parayko, and Brayden Schenn made it 2-1 late in the first after Luukkonen stopped Parayko’s shot from the point.
Most of the Sabres’ mistakes with the puck were made in the defensive zone. They didn’t force the type of careless passes in the neutral zone that led to odd-man rushes during the 0-10-3 skid. Their forwards chipped the puck behind the Blues’ defensemen and tried to win possession.
Though Buffalo lost too many of those one-on-one battles, it stuck to the game plan that’s produced better results over the past 10 days. The Sabres didn’t lose poise, either. They kept limited most of the Blues’ shots to the perimeter and allowed Luukkonen to see the puck.
It’s impossible for any team to be perfect every game. Ugly performances are inevitable. The Sabres had only 16 shots on goal and 27 shot attempts compared to 75 for the Blues. Buffalo need to start winning games like the one in St. Louis if it's going to have a chance to climb the standings. The Sabres' 32 standings points are tied for the fewest in the Eastern Conference, and they are eight points behind Ottawa for the final playoff spot.
“A couple weeks ago that would have been a really tough loss for us,” said Zucker. “We learned from it and we’re kind of finding what we call a B game. We definitely didn’t have our best and I think that was a good sign for us.”
Here are other takeaways from the game:
1. Big play
Ryan McLeod’s line with Beck Malenstyn and Sam Lafferty helped the Sabres pull out the win.Malenstyn hit the post by tipping Jacob Bryson’s shot moments before Lafferty drew the penalty that Zucker used to score the game-winning goal. The latter referred to McLeod’s line as the team’s best Sunday afternoon, though each of those three forwards was more effective on the penalty kill.
Kulich stole the show with his goal, though. The 20-year-old rookie collected the puck in the left circle of his defensive zone and backhanded it off the left wall before he fought through a check. Kulich regained possession several feet into the offensive zone and held the puck until he snapped a quick shot between Binnington’s legs to make it 4-2. The goal was Kulich’s seventh of the season and he has three goals with seven points in his last six games.
“He’s got so much talent,” Zucker said of Kulich. “His game is only going to keep getting better.”
2. Penalties
Three of the four penalties called on the Sabres were questionable. Even the Blues’ television broadcast acknowledged as much as their team began its fourth power play.The Sabres’ turnovers and lost puck battles put them in a position for those calls to be made, though. Rasmus Dahlin took a holding penalty, Tuch high-sticked Oskar Sundqvist, JJ Peterka cross-checked Texier and Lafferty tripped Ryan Suter in the offensive zone. Buffalo’s 4.25 penalties per 60 minutes is the third-worst mark in the NHL.
The Sabres' penalty kill is 6-for-6 during the three-game win streak.
3. Highlight play
Bowen Byram made a play in the first period that showed why the Sabres chose to acquire him for Casey Mittelstadt in March.When Kulich won an offensive-zone faceoff, Dahlin Dahlin snapped a tape-to-tape pass to Byram, who immediately sent a slap-shot pass to set up Krebs near the crease for the 1-0 goal 6:52 into the first period. It was the third time in as many games that Buffalo used a shot pass to set up a goal – Dahlin had the other two – and Byram continued to have one of the most productive seasons in his short NHL career.
Byram has four goals with 20 points through 37 games, only nine points behind the career-best mark that he set between Colorado and Buffalo last season.