Skinner, Mittelstadt fuel comeback win over Wild

Dylan Cozens waved toward the Minnesota Wild bench as he skated off ice, two teammates by his side.
The Wild lived up to their physical, high-scoring reputation inside KeyBank Center on Friday, pushing the Sabres both in the literal sense and on the scoreboard. The Sabres just kept pushing back.
That remained true even after the final horn had sounded on a 5-4 victory. Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon slashed Rasmus Dahlin. Dahlin slashed Spurgeon back. Casey Mittelstadt joined the fray, followed by Kyle Okposo and then Cozens.
Cozens waved after he was finally separated from a spirited exchange with Wild forward Ryan Hartman.
"Sometimes, that's the way it goes," Jeff Skinner said. "There's a lot of emotions."

It was a fitting conclusion to a game that turned on a moment of physicality. The Sabres carried a 2-1 lead into the third period but fell behind on a pair of Wild goals scored just 1:39 apart.
Casey Fitzgerald provided the spark that put momentum back on their side, igniting both the bench and the crowd when he chose to fight Wild forward Mason Shaw. Skinner netted the tying goal less than four minutes later, then added the go-ahead goal as an encore.
"Any time a guy's sort of putting himself on the line like that, it should fire you up, I think," Skinner said. "Especially sort of at that point of the game.
"It's, in my opinion, good timing for us because there's a little bit of a lull, we're sort of looking to break out and whether it's a chance or someone drawing a penalty, you're looking for that spark. [Fitzgerald] does a great job providing that for us."

The Sabres entered the night on the heels of a 5-1 win in Toronto in which they generated offense from throughout the lineup and largely stuck to the aggressive mindset they are seeking to establish on a consistent basis.
Granato felt that rhythm was absent during the first two periods against the Wild despite the fact that the Sabres managed to carry a lead into the second intermission. Their two goals had come by virtue of the power play, from Mittelstadt and Okposo.
Kevin Fiala buried a one-time shot to tie the score just 3:20 into the third period. Nico Sturm drew a holding penalty on the very next shift, paving the way for Kirill Kaprizov's go-ahead goal on the power play.
"I think it's been pretty well documented we've had a lot of third periods where teams have come back on us and we've got on our heels," Okposo said.
"… We had quite a bit of adversity with them coming out hard and then regaining the lead in the third period. But I thought that we stuck with our game. The best teams in the league, that's what they do. They never change the way they play."
The push back began with Fitzgerald, who fought for the third time in his rookie season. It carried on well after the game had concluded.
"There was a surge after Fitzy battled there by the penalty box," Granato said. "We played with a different energy at that point, which was what we were searching for the first 40 minutes for sure. … But I love the way we finished."
Here are more notes from the win over the Wild

Mittelstadt's multi-point night

Mittelstadt put Buffalo on the board with a power-play goal and later carved up the Minnesota penalty kill to set up Okposo. Neither play garnered a louder reaction than his shift late in the third period.
Mittelstadt turned into a one-man wrecking crew with the Sabres protecting a 4-3 lead with less than three minutes to play. He sent Spurgeon to the ice with a reverse hit along the end boards. He maintained possession of the puck through a trip and two shoves by Wild defensemen.
"You don't have to look any farther than that shift with three minutes left," Okposo said. "That sums his game up right there."
Mittelstadt thought the outing was his best since returning to the lineup on Feb. 19. He has missed three separate stretches due to injuries this season, the first of which occurred on opening night.
Mittelstadt's power-play goal - a loose puck that bounced his way off of net-front traffic - was his first since Dec. 2. He later carried the puck over the blue line and between the four Wild penalty killers before creating the rebound that led to Okposo's goal.

"It's been a bit of a process," Mittelstadt said. "It's definitely been a little bit frustrating. But yeah, you know, I felt better tonight. I thought that was my best game since I've been back. So, yeah, just gonna try to find that energy and keep going."

Skinner earns his bounces

Skinner was in the right place at the right time for his tying goal, a sequence that began when Tage Thompson reached to keep the puck in at the offensive blue line. The puck bounced to Skinner in the slot and, after whiffing on an initial attempt, put a shot on goal and stuck with his rebound.

Alex Tuch drove the puck over the blue line along the boards to kick off Skinner's go-ahead goal. Skinner picked the puck up from Tuch high on the boards, took a long shot in the slot and once again found the rebound.

Skinner has 23 goals this season, tied with Thompson for the team lead.
"It's a fortunate bounce, but you've got to put yourself in those situations," he said.

Okposo heat check

Okposo now has eight goals in 12 games since Jan. 29. He has not gone back-to-back games without a goal since the All-Star break.

Up next

The homestand continues Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings.
It will be a Kids Takeover inside KeyBank Center. Find more info on the day here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 12:30 p.m. The puck drops at 1.