The Buffalo Sabres’ hottest line Monday night consisted of two guys who did virtually nothing the first 20 games of the season and another who wasn’t on the team at this time last week.
Captain Kyle Okposo and newcomer Eric Robinson easily earned their wings around center Peyton Krebs, with Okposo and Robinson collecting three points apiece in a solid 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes in KeyBank Center.
Tuch has missed three games since suffering a hamstring injury Dec. 3 against Nashville but is expected to return on the Sabres' road trip later this week.
The Sabres improved to 12-14-3 and have forged their third 2-0-1 point streak of the season. It’s a small run for sure, but you’ve got to start somewhere.
This was a game the Sabres dominated from start to finish, using their speed to be a step ahead of the Coyotes in all zones of the ice. The Sabres outshot the Coyotes, 38-23, with almost every puck battle going their way. A three-goal second period put them in control.
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“We’re starting to play a more direct, competitive game as a group,” said head coach Don Granato. “Which makes everybody’s job easier, everybody’s life easier. If we can commit to playing that way, skill will follow. If you think you can ‘skill’ first, you’ll have a very frustrating time as we’ve had.”
Okposo and Robinson both had a goal and two assists in the game. It was Okposo’s first three-point game since his hat trick vs. Detroit on Dec. 29, 2022. It was Robinson’s first three-pointer since his hat trick here for Columbus on Feb. 28. Robinson and Krebs were plus-4 in the game and Okposo was plus-3.
“It’s not hard to play like that. It’s just a commitment to it,” Okposo said. “And everybody was committed tonight and the last few (games). We have to make sure that we have that same commitment moving forward.”
The Sabres finally played from in front at home, taking the 1-0 lead for the first time in the last six home games when Okposo opened the scoring at 2:25 of the first by jamming home a rebound of a Robinson break. That was the score at the first intermission, Buffalo’s first lead downtown after 20 minutes since the Oct. 29 shutout win over Colorado.
Arizona is in KeyBank Center on Monday night, then it's off to the first Western roadie of the season: Wednesday in Colorado, Friday in Vegas and Saturday in Tempe with a rematch against the Coyotes.
“Really nice to play with a lead. We haven’t done that a lot, especially at home,” Okposo said. “It just makes the game simpler. You’re not on your heels, you’re not chasing the game.”
The 6-foot-2 Robinson, acquired last Wednesday from Columbus, has done nothing but play on his toes since he got here. He’s got speed, size and good hands and isn’t caught out of position. In its three games together, Natural Stat Trick says the line has 68% of the shots on goal and 69% of the high-danger scoring chances. It has 15 scoring chances overall.
“I think we’re kind of all on the same page wanting to play simple, getting pucks in and playing below the goal line,” Robinson said. “It’s been a whirlwind, but really exciting. Getting to play with ‘Okie’ and ‘Krebsy’ has made it easy. They’ve been playing hard and straight and talking to me all night.”
“You don’t really know what to expect and then within three shifts of that first game in Boston, I knew exactly what I was getting,” Okposo said of Robinson.
Robinson snapped a 1-1 tie at 6:14 of the second period with his first goal as a member of the Sabres, poking a rebound of an Okposo shot through goalie Karel Vejmelka.
“I saw Okie got a good tip on it, saw it pop out and figured jam away and hope for the best,” Robinson said. “Luckily, it slid under him.”
The Sabres went ahead 3-1 at 10:52 when Krebs banged home a quick slapshot from the left circle off an Okposo feed, and pushed the lead to three on JJ Peterka’s team-high 12th of the season at 15:06.
Okposo had no goals and three assists in his first 19 games this season. In his last 10 games, he’s piled up five goals and three assists. Krebs had one assist in his first 20 games but has two goals and two assists in the last seven.
“We’ve been really buzzing as a line and tonight was nice with the puck going in the net,” Krebs said. “We’re trying to bring that consistency every night, bring the energy and have fun doing it.”
“Just trying to shoot more, feel more confident in some of the plays I’m making,” Okposo said. “My timing I think is a little bit better, where I’m landing at the net a little bit better.”
Granato credited pro scouting director Jeremiah Crowe for pushing general manager Kevyn Adams to get the 6-foot-2 Robinson and he looks like a steal in a deal for a seventh-round pick. Once both Jordan Greenway and Zemgus Girgensons are healthy, you’re not taking Robinson out of this lineup.
Here are some other observations from the game:
1. Levi gets another call
Devon Levi got his third straight start in the Buffalo net and made several good saves in the game even though he didn’t face a high volume of shots. Levi’s best stop came on a third-period breakaway by Jason Zucker.
Levi has stopped 81 of 86 shots the last three games (.942) to improve to 5-4-2 on the season.
2. Lineup card
Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson missed the game with nagging soreness from lower-body issues. He took most of the morning skate but left a few minutes early and was held out and replaced by Ryan Johnson.
Samuelsson blocked a career-high nine shots in Thursday’s win at Boston, then played 22:46 in Saturday’s shootout loss to Montreal.
The only change at forward came when Isak Rosen was returned to Rochester and Brett Murray was called up to replace him on the line with Tyson Jost and Victor Olofsson.
3. More setups by CliftonThe other big offensive contribution in the win came from defenseman Connor Clifton, who had two assists to notch his first multi-point game with the Sabres. Clifton has a three-game assist streak, matching his career high set in October 2022 with Boston.
It was Clifton’s stretch pass to Okposo that set up the first goal and he also assisted on Robinson’s goal.
4. Next
The Sabres open their three-game road trip Wednesday night in Denver against the Avalanche. They then play Friday in Vegas and have a rematch with the Coyotes on Saturday night at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz.
The next home games are Dec. 19 against Columbus and Dec. 21 against Toronto.