'It shows great character' | Sabres find a way in win over Devils

Ralph Krueger sensed a calmness in the Sabres' dressing room Saturday as they navigated another performance in which they had less than their best.
Once again, the Sabres left the building with something to show for it. Jack Eichel scored the lone goal in a shootout to clinch a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, giving the Sabres points in five straight games (3-0-2) and pushing them above .500 for the first time this season.
Each of Buffalo's last five games has been decided by one goal.

"We're much, much calmer than last season with going up, going down, tie games," Krueger said. "The language is good. I've told you all it's good we have this adversity early already. It's making us more resilient for these kinds of games and understanding that it's going to be like this every day."
The Sabres were disappointed with their play Thursday against the New York Rangers but managed to come away with a point thanks to an outstanding effort from goaltender Linus Ullmark. They found a way again Saturday, this time thanks to a confluence of details that added up by the end of regulation.
Ullmark once again made timely stops during a 31-save effort. Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, and Curtis Lazar combined for a crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill during the first period. Eric Staal and Tobias Rieder provided even-strength scoring and a tweak to the power play helped create the go-ahead goal from Victor Olofsson in the third.
"I think it shows great character," Olofsson said. "We've been down in a lot of these games, too. It's really strong to come back when we're not playing as good as we want all the time.
"So, I mean, it shows great character, but at the same time, I thought we maybe got to step up a little bit here and get back to how we played a few games ago."
Here five more takeaways from the victory.

1. Shootout recipe works again

The Sabres won the competition using the same formula that worked in their victory in Washington last Sunday: a searing wrist shot from Eichel and a perfect outing from Ullmark.

Ullmark has now stopped 30 of 35 career shootout attempts for a save percentage of .857. That leads active goaltenders and ranks second all-time among goalies with at least 20 attempts.
"It's something that gives you confidence for those situations in the future," Krueger said. "We know we can take some risks and give up the odd-man rushes if we're ever behind with Linus in that kind of zone that he's in."

2. Penalty kill sets the tone

We already mentioned the 5-on-3 penalty kill, a crucial moment in what was still a game during the first period. Staal and Brandon Montour were both called for penalties as Jesper Bratt deked his way toward the Buffalo net, giving New Jersey a full two minutes with the two-man advantage.
Lazar, McCabe, and Ristolainen were on for 1:42 of those two minutes. The Devils did not record a shot on goal and had just one scoring chance by the Sabres' internal count.
"If you look at how Lazar, McCabe and Ristolainen took the shot lanes away and how well they anticipated and read their movements, that was a textbook three-on-five," Krueger said. "I thought Jersey moved the puck well.
"… That was truly a moment when we were tested. You almost feel like you score a goal when the guys kill like that. Linus, finally, behind all that just stayed extremely calm."
The penalty kill finished the game 4-for-5, allowing a goal to defenseman Ty Smith on a shot from the point during the second period. It is 10-for-11 over the past three games.

3. Staal heats up

Staal put the Sabres on the board during the second period, giving him three goals and four points in his past five games. The veteran set off the sequence of events that led to the goal with a pass to Montour in the neutral zone. Montour carried the puck over the blue and passed to Taylor Hall, who set up the shot from Staal.

The goal was the 439th of Staal's career, moving him ahead of Gary Roberts on the NHL's all-time list. He trails only Alex Ovechkin (707), Patrick Marleau (562) and Sidney Crosby (465) among active players.

4. A tweak on the power play

Assistant coach Don Granato said earlier this week that using Rasmus Ristolainen at the net-front - a look the Sabres utilized late last season - was still in the toolbox. Buffalo went to it for the first time this season with the game on the line during the third period.
There was one other wrinkle. With Jack Eichel being tended to after taking a puck to the face, Krueger called upon Lazar to take the draw and play the bumper position.
"His eyes were popping out of his head when I asked him to go play power play," Krueger said. "I said, 'Just win the draw and go stand in the slot.' That's what he did, and the boys took care of the rest."
Once Lazar won the faceoff, Ristolainen made his way to the net. He planted his 6-foot-4, 221-pound frame in front of goaltender Scott Wedgewood as Olofsson shot from the right circle.

"He's so good and he's really big," Olofsson said of Ristolainen. "He's parked right in front of the goalkeeper. You just got to make sure he doesn't see the puck when I'm shooting it. It's a lot easier to score when he's in front, for sure."

5. Lineup notes

Sam Reinhart did not play and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Tage Thompson re-entered the lineup in his place alongside Olofsson and Eichel but was replaced on the line by Jeff Skinner late during the second period.
"It was just something I wanted to look at," Krueger said. "I thought Jeff was having a good game and you know that we're quick, even in tie games, at doing things to win. We're all about trying to get the 'W' no matter what, even in regular time."
Henri Jokiharju returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an injury, skating 16:00.