Postgame Report | Krebs, Olofsson each score a pair in win over Ducks

Don Granato rattled off the names of three players who dealt with various forms of adversity this season, all of whom were difference makers for the Buffalo Sabres in a 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Victor Olofsson scored two goals in a span of 15 games from late November through December, continued to work through it alongside linemates Casey Mittelstadt and Tyson Jost. Olofsson scored broke a 3-3 tie in the third period with his 20th and 21st goals, a new career high in just 45 games.
There was Ilya Lyubushkin, who missed two separate stretches with lower-body injuries and has played through pain since, Granato said. Lyubushkin had three assists for the first time in his career.

Lastly, Peyton Krebs had sat out brief stretches this season, time intended by the coaches to allow the 21-year-old to take a step back amid a busy scheduled. He scored twice and had a second-period fight.
"That's something that our team takes a lot of pride in, those guys knowing their teammates fought through adversity," Granato said. "Tonight, was a big night for those guys."

The Sabres overcame some adversity themselves. The Ducks erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 during the second period. The two teams entered the third tied, 3-3.
Olofsson restored control with a pair of goals scored 6:55 apart and Krebs added his second of the game shortly thereafter. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was perfect during the third period to complete a 34-save night, earning his ninth win in his last 11 starts.
Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens also scored goals for the Sabres while Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch each had two assists. Buffalo improved to 2-0-1 in its last three games with the win.
Here's the breakdown from a second straight victory on home ice.

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How it happened

PERIOD 1
The Sabres built their 2-0 lead on goals from Cozens and Skinner.
Cozens opened the scoring at 9:53. He caught a pass from Dahlin at the offensive blue line, deked around the lone defender in Jakob Silverberg, and beat goaltender John Gibson top-shelf.

Skinner scored a power-play goal from the high slot to extend the lead at 17:39.

PERIOD 2
The Ducks twice erased deficits to enter the second intermission tied, 3-3.
Trevor Zegras scored twice in a span of 5:27 to erase Buffalo's 2-0 lead. Krebs buried the rebound off a Dahlin wrap-around attempt to restore the lead, 3-2.

Simon Benoit scored on a wrist shot from the point to tie the game with 4:31 remaining.
PERIOD 3
Olofsson emphatically buried a 2-on-1 feed from Lyubushkin for the go-ahead goal 2:12 into the period.

His next goal was a solo effort. Olofsson stripped the puck in the neutral zone, carried it in on a breakaway and beat Gibson with a hard wrist shot.

Krebs scored his second goal of the game from the high slot with 6:20 remaining.

What we learned

1.Ryan Miller was in the building to drop the puck during a ceremonial faceoff. He was joined by Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson and Gibson, his former teammate with the Ducks.

Miller joined Brian Duff and Martin Biron on the broadcast during the first intermission to share his thoughts on the weekend as a whole.

2.Olofsson's second goal of the game moved him into a tie with Tage Thompson for the most multi-goal games (6) by a Sabres skater in 2022-23. He has also has recorded seven points (6+1) in his last six games.
"I feel like these last 10 games we've been really clicking as a line, too, with Mittsy and Josty," Olofsson said. "I feel like we're just feeding off each other and they're feeding me with great passes."

3.Krebs fought Ducks forward Ryan Strome late in the second period - his second fight is less than a month and also the second of his life, he said afterward.
"My brother's been in a lot in the Western League so I've watched a few of his," Krebs said. "Just a lot of stick battles, usually. Usually I just slash people but I decided to drop the gloves."

4.Granato pointed out how both of Krebs' fights have occurred right in front of the benches, which he hypothesized was Krebs' way of trying to excite his teammates.
"That's what I'm trying to do, just pump up the boys, get them fired up to have the best period possible," Krebs said. "We did that."
5.Granato highlighted Krebs' second goal - a hard wrist shot from the slot - as a sign of his improvement this season.
"I don't think any of us have seen him rip a puck the way he scored that second goal tonight," Granato said. "You don't shoot that if you don't believe you can score from there. I don't know if that was the case earlier in the year, even three weeks ago that he would have taken a shot from that area because you don't think you can score from that area. So that's a big change. That's just another piece he's adding to his game."
6.The Sabres wore local high school and minor hockey jerseys into the building in honor of Youth Hockey Day. See how they made their selections in the video below.

Up next

The Sabres open a four-game road trip in Dallas on Monday. Coverage on MSG begins at 8 p.m. The puck drops at 8:30.
Buffalo's next home game is February 1 against Carolina. Tickets are on sale now.