Dahlin's goal headlines night of firsts in win over Coyotes

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - Rasmus Dahlin said prior to departing Buffalo on Friday that he wasn't sure what to expect from his first NHL road trip, one that would include five games spanning over 10 days out west.
Surely, scoring his first career goal less than three minutes in would have been hard to predict.
Only 2:45 had ticked off the clock on Saturday when Dahlin followed Jeff Skinner on a rush and buried a loose puck in the crease, marking what many of his teammates agreed afterward would be the first of many NHL goals for the 18-year-old defenseman.

Sabres coach Phil Housley said the players were thrilled for their young teammate at the time of the goal, and their enthusiasm could be heard from outside the dressing room following a 3-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
"They were really glad," Dahlin said. "That makes me glad, too. We have a good chemistry on the team. We're a good team."

It was, as Housley pointed out, a night of firsts for the team. Linus Ullmark, playing for the first time since Sept. 26, stopped 36 shots for his first NHL shutout. Skinner capped the scoring in the third period with his first goal as a Sabre.
But it all started with Dahlin, who showed the type of offensive prowess that made him the No. 1 pick in June. The defenseman began the play in the neutral zone with a pass to Skinner, who danced around defenseman Jason Demers to create an open path to the net.
Skinner drew Arizona goalie Antti Raanta out to the edge of the crease but ran out of room as he tried to tuck the puck into the net. The puck sat on the blue line until Dahlin drove it in as the second man on the rush.

"He has tremendous instincts and just a knack of finding the open man with the puck and following up and filling in a hole and adding on the rush," Housley said. "He just went with his instincts and finally just went to the net. He made a strong play on it to get the rebound."
"I take what's given," Dahlin said. "I don't force anything but when the situation comes up, I take it."
Watching Dahlin through Buffalo's first four games of the season, it was easy to see a goal coming. He said he was growing more comfortable with each passing contest, and it was evident. He nearly scored on a point-blank one-timer against Colorado on Thursday.
Dahlin stayed humble afterward - "I've got to thank Skinner" was the first thing he said to the media - but Skinner had no problem heaping praise on the rookie.
"He's got so much skill," Skinner said. "I think it's nice for him to get it out of the way. I thought he played a great game and it's only five games into his career so he's only going to get better. It's going to be fun to watch him for a long time."
"I was very happy for him," Ullmark added. "I think there's a lot to come with that."

Worth the wait

Ullmark dropped to one knee and pumped his fist as the clock expired. The goalie had waited five games and 17 days for his first start of the season, but the result was worth it.
"It was sweet," he said afterward.
Ullmark said he felt "a little off" to begin the game, but he looked plenty comfortable by the time the Coyotes made their push down 2-0 in the second period. In the span of just over a minute, he stopped a couple of one-time shots from Richard Panik and Lawson Crouse.
"Yeah, I was kind of settled in and I felt way better," Ullmark said. "Yeah, they had some pushes, but we played really solid defensively. We were keeping guys outside and just giving me the shot lane."
The Coyotes entered the game ranked fourth in the NHL with an average of 36.7 shots per game, a point Housley emphasized beforehand. Ullmark and his coach were in agreement that the defense did a good job of keeping shots to the outside and preventing second opportunities.
"The guys helped me out tremendously, giving me a lot of shot lanes to look at and I didn't have to fight so much to see the puck," Ullmark said. "All credit to the guys helping out."

Skinner nets his first

After helping Dahlin net his goal early, Skinner was able to find the back of the net on his own for the first time this season with 3:31 remaining. Rasmus Ristolainen lofted a counter pass into the offensive zone, leaving Skinner to skate into it with no one ahead of him.
Skinner cut across the net and buried a top-shelf shot off his backhand.

"It was nice," he said. "It's been a while for me I think. Risto made a great play up to me. The puck was rolling a little bit, I tried to settle it down a little bit and fortunately I got one there."
Housley had said following practice on Friday that he liked Skinner's game despite the lack of early results. He was happy to see the forward's efforts finally pay off.
"He's been really doing the right things," the coach said. "Not only offensively, he hasn't been rewarded, but defensively, he's coming back hard, he's stripping pucks from behind. It's good to see a guy finally get rewarded."

Rebound for the power play

The Sabres went 0-for-7 on the power play in their loss to Colorado on Thursday, and they were going against a Coyotes penalty kill that entered the night a perfect 7-for-7 on the season. That perfect season came to an end when Conor Sheary roofed his third goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the first period.
The play began with Jack Eichel, who hovered with the puck on the outer edge of the left faceoff circle. He passed down low to Sam Reinhart, who cut toward the net to create a passing lane for Sheary. Reinhart delivered a neat pass off his backhand; Sheary dropped to his knee and did the rest.

Sheary now has four points (3+1) in four games as a Sabre. All three of his goals have come on the power play, which marks a new career-high.

Up next

The Sabres continue their road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. The Sabres beat the Golden Knights, 4-1, at KeyBank Center last Monday.
Coverage on MSG-B begins at 9:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 10.