Practice Report | A look at the Sabres’ top storylines 10 games into the season

The Buffalo Sabres returned to practice Thursday on a two-game winning streak after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Sabres improved to 5-5-0 through the first 10 games of the regular season and found a way to pull off the win despite not feeling their best.

Granato was proud of the team’s response in the third period, which saw the Sabres tally three unanswered goals by Owen Power, Tage Thompson, and Brandon Biro to open their home-and-home series with the Flyers with a win.

“The fact that we were opportunistic, I was very happy because that’s what we talked about after the second period,” Granato said. “We don’t have to feel good to win a hockey game. There’s going to be lots of nights when you don’t feel good, and we all know that. When you don’t, you want to minimize on the other side what comes against you and be ready for your opportunity, and we were.”

Buffalo will now close out the set with Philadelphia on Friday at KeyBank Center. The team will be back in its black-and-red third jersey for the third time this season.

To secure your seats for the game, click here. 

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG/MSG+ and WGR 550.

As we enter November, here are some of the top storylines that have emerged 10 games into the season.

Killing it

The Sabres are currently ranked fifth in the NHL in penalty-kill percentage (90.0) after killing off 36 penalties, the second-most in the league.

Defensemen Erik Johnson (44:19) and Mattias Samuelsson (40:01) lead Buffalo with over 40 minutes of shorthanded ice time each. Forwards Jordan Greenway (36:04) and Tage Thompson (30:13) have both seen over 30 minutes of ice time on the penalty kill.

Samuelsson currently ranks third among all NHL skaters in shorthanded ice time while Greenway sits second among forwards.

Entering play today, the Sabres are one of eight teams who have allowed four power-play goals or fewer and the only team that has been shorthanded 40 or more times and allowed fewer than 10 goals.

Following practice, Thompson shared how the team has used its length on the penalty kill to its advantage with the Sabres’ top penalty-kill unit of Thompson, Johnson, Samuelsson, and Greenway all standing at 6-foot-4 or taller.

“You got a lot of guys that are pretty big, long sticks, good reads, pretty good at anticipating plays. So, I think it’s been working well,” Thompson said. “Pretty aggressive not trying to let the other power play set. It’s been going well.”

Still streaking

Entering Tuesday, the Sabres are the only NHL team to have more than four skaters with an active point streak of three or more games.

Thompson, Power, JJ Peterka, Jeff Skinner, and Alex Tuch are all riding point streaks heading into Friday’s matchup with the Flyers.

With an assist against Philadelphia on Wednesday, Skinner extended his point streak to six games while Power, Thompson, and Tuch each extended their own point streaks to four games. The Sabres are currently the only team in the league with more than two skaters with an active point streak of four or more games.

Rasmus Dahlin held the group’s longest point streak so far this season with a career-best eight-game streak, which ended Wednesday.

Dynamic duo

Power and Henri Jokiharju have continued to play as a defensive pair this season and have put together a stellar showing to begin 2023-24. The Sabres have outscored opponents 11-3 when the duo has been on the ice together at 5-on-5, which is tied for second in the NHL among all defense pairs with a minimum of 100 minutes played.

After practice, Granato shared how Jokiharju’s growth has positively impacted their play on the ice together.

“Joki has gotten better every day from training camp - even from preseason game to preseason game. He’s one of those players that needed some time to get into a groove and find his groove, and through the process, was diligent about where he wanted to be and getting there,” Granato said. “Those guys have had growing familiarity with each other, and I think that continues.”

Luuukkk

Since making his season debut Oct. 24 in Ottawa, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has posted three wins in three starts and a 3-1-0 record in four games played. The 24-year-old has recorded a .926 save percentage, with the help of a 23-save shutout versus Colorado last Sunday and 38-save performance in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Luukkonen has stepped up when his team has needed him most. Eric Comrie is week to week with a lower-body injury whilte Devon Levi returned to practice Tuesday after being sidelined since Oct. 19 with a lower-body injury of his own.

Biro's first goal

The Sabres recalled Biro from the Rochester Americans on Tuesday and the forward made an immediate impact in the lineup Wednesday against the Flyers, scoring his first NHL goal before capping off his season debut with an empty-net goal in the third.

Thompson emphasized that Biro’s speed, skill, and hockey sense are qualities that allow him to fit in well with the group.

“Obviously, he’s got great hands, great finishing ability,” Thompson said. “Then like I said, I think he’s got really high hockey IQ, which allows him to play with anyone. He reads the game really well and he’s always in the right areas and around the puck and around the front of the net, which is a good thing.”

Here are more notes from practice.

1. Alex Tuch took a maintenance day Thursday.

Victor Olofsson skated in Tuch’s place while Erik Johnson was paired with Connor Clifton, who has finished serving his two-game suspension for his hit on New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier on Oct. 27.

Here’s how the rest of the group lined up for practice:

Forwards

12 Jordan Greenway – 72 Tage Thompson – 15 Brandon Biro

53 Jeff Skinner – 37 Casey Mittelstadt – 77 JJ Peterka

17 Tyson Jost – 24 Dylan Cozens – 71 Victor Olofsson

28 Zemgus Girgensons – 19 Peyton Krebs – 21 Kyle Okposo

Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 23 Mattias Samuelsson

25 Owen Power – 10 Henri Jokiharju

75 Connor Clifton – 6 Erik Johnson

78 Jacob Bryson

Goalies

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

27 Devon Levi

2. Thompson has recorded nine points (5+4) in 10 games this season and has evolved into a strong penalty killer for the Sabres. The forward is the only player in the NHL who has played 30 or more minutes of shorthanded ice time to have not been on the ice for a power-play goal against, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“He is becoming a very good penalty killer,” Granato said. “… He had undeniable skill, now he’s gaining growth and awareness and consistency in patterns of the game and that will make him even more dangerous, as we’ve seen.”

Granato believes that Thompson’s success on the penalty kill will translate well to his 5-on-5 defense and play.

“Just comfort, confidence in situations of 2-on-1s and pucks to the net, and tracking rebounds once they do come to the net to eliminate. … So, having to think and process that way, the essence of that is you learn how to kill plays faster which means you defend less. If Tage Thompson has to defend less, that means he’s on offense more, and that’s what he’d want,” Granato explained.

3. Casey Mittelstadt has recorded nine points (3+6) in 10 games and has scored in consecutive contests for the Sabres.

Granato praised Mittelstadt after practice, sharing that the coaching staff has brought things to his attention but that his production is a result of his progression as a player.

"I think he’s more comfortable and settled in his career and because of that, he’s reading options, specifically shooting and goal-scoring options for himself, with greater clarity. He’s a more confident player, he’s a more experienced player," Granato said.