Pominville became a fan favorite during his first tenure with the organization, helping take the Sabres to the playoffs in four of his first six seasons. The atmosphere in KeyBank Center felt a bit like it did in those days as the Sabres offered their best offensive output in nearly a decade.
Kyle Okposo tallied his fourth goal in six games to open the scoring. Jeff Skinner (2+1) and Jack Eichel (0+3) had three-point nights. Conor Sheary, Zemgus Girgensons Patrik Berglund, and Casey Mittelstadt each added a goal and an assist.
The Sabres seemed to pick up where they left off in Ottawa on Thursday, when they outshot the Senators 23-7 in the third period but were unable to erase a three-goal deficit. The shots were in their favor again on Saturday, 41-29.
"I think we knew that if we played that certain way there that we played in the third in Ottawa, I thought we would have success," Eichel said. I thought we were good in our own zone, I thought we were good in the neutral zone and I thought that we played as a five-man unit. That's why we had so many chances offensively."
The line of Skinner, Eichel and Pominville continued its dominant run with a combined nine points. Since joining together in Los Angeles on Oct. 20, they're the top three scorers in the NHL. Skinner has 13 points in that span (8+5), Pominville has 13 (7+6) and Eichel has 12 (1+11).
"I think we've just been getting more and more familiar with each other every day. The two of them are really good around the net," Eichel said. "I think I'm more of a distribute-first guy, and I think it's just been working out, the three of us together. When we're taking care of the puck and we're getting it in and we're playing in their end and cycling it, I think we've had a lot of success."
"A lot of success" might be an understatement. Take a look at these individual notes from Sabres PR regarding the NHL's hottest line:
• Skinner has scored 30 goals in three separate seasons during an eight-year career, but he's never had a 10-game stretch as productive as the 15-point run he's on now. His plus-12 rating leads the NHL alongside Nashville's Filip Forsberg.
• Pominville is now performing at a point-per-game pace this season. He has points seven straight games, which is his longest streak since March 2013.
• Eichel leads the Sabres with 17 points in 14 games. That's a 99-point pace.
Skinner was asked if their line could possibly perform any better.
"You can always be better," he said. "You always work on little things, I think. I think it's been fun. We sort of read off each other pretty well. You're always looking to improve, just like I think better teams are always looking to improve. We'll keep working at."
Skinner and Pominville scored three of the first four goals, but then the floodgates opened for others to contribute. Sheary scored on a breakaway, ending an eight-game drought. Berglund and Girgensons were finally rewarded after playing a vital role on a checking line with Johan Larsson in recent games.
As their goal total rose, so did the atmosphere in the building. A familiar chant rung from the stands: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight … We want nine!
The last time the Sabres scored nine goals at home was Jan. 18, 2008 against the Atlanta Thrashers (coincidentally, the Thrashers are the team depicted in the background of the painting given to Pominville prior to the game).
Eichel chuckled when asked if he could hear the crowd.
"Yeah, of course," he said. "For us, obviously, it's been a tough few years in terms of our play here at home. I think that's something we're trying to take more pride in, is playing better in front of our home fans. It was great to see them pack the building for Pommer's ceremony.
"They just seemed so engaged throughout the game. Whenever you're able to get off to a start and get a lead and score a lot of goals, it definitely helps get them into it."
