Postgame Report | Okposo records hat trick as Sabres win 5th in a row

Despite playing for the first time in 10 days, the Buffalo Sabres looked ready to go Thursday night, exploding for six goals in a 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center.
Sabres captain Kyle Okposo led the way with three goals while Casey Mittelstadt tallied a pair and Jeff Skinner added one. Rookies Owen Power and JJ Peterka each registered two assists in front of a sellout crowd.

"…The crowd was just awesome. I think they really helped us get back into it," Mittelstadt said. "It's always hard off a long break to come play right away, and to have that energy tonight was awesome for us."
Mittelstadt stressed that after everything that happened this past weekend in Buffalo with the snow storm, the team wanted to play hard for the fans.
"We want to show the fans that we love it here, and we want to be a part of the city," Mittelstadt said. "So, I think they did a good job helping us out and giving it back to us tonight. I mean, they were extremely loud and extremely supportive."
With the win, the Sabres have now won five in a row and are 8-2-1 over their last 11 games. It marks the team's first five-game winning streak since 2018.
Okposo's hat trick was his first as a member of the Sabres and his first since February 7, 2016.
"We do what we love every day, to be able to play hockey, to coach hockey," Granato said. "And to do it in a community you feel that they support this team, you can have that return, it's nice. So, very happy for Okie and the rest of the guys for what they did tonight."
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen recorded 28 saves in the win.

How it happened

Period 1
The Sabres outshot Detroit 14-7, pinning the Red Wings in their own end for the majority of the opening period.
Luukkonen made a statement early after stopping an Arvid Soderblom shot from point-blank range.
Just seconds after the Sabres' first power play expired, Power sent a cross-ice pass over to Peterka, who one-timed a shot from the right wing. Mittelstadt stood on the doorstep and redirected the shot into the net for his sixth of the season.

Luukkonen closed out the first with another big save, this time on Filip Hronek on the rush with 10 seconds remaining in the period.
Period 2
After handling a loose puck in front of the net, Skinner picked the top-right corner at the 1:20 mark to put the Sabres up by two.

Mittelstadt tallied his second of the night on the power play after his backhand deflected off Hronek and into the net with 9:32 remaining.

Under a minute later, the Sabres took a 4-0 lead as Zemgus Girgensons sent a pass from behind the net to a wide-open Okposo in the slot. The fans chanted for more.

Tyson Jost and Mittelstadt forced another turnover in the Detroit zone to spark Buffalo's fifth goal. Jost put the puck on Okposo's stick in front of the net, who scored his second of the game with 5:58 remaining in the second.

Period 3
Dominic Kubalik put the Red Wings on the board, off a pass from Soderblom 2:35 into the period.
Kubalik scored his second of the night just under two minutes later on the power play.
Detroit inched closer at the 7:11 mark with a goal from Jordan Oesterle.
Okposo completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal with 3:38 remaining.

What we learned

1. Skinner tallied his 17th goal of the season and now owns 23 points (12+11) in his last 12 games.
   2. Okposo extended his point streak to three games, tallying five points in that span (4+1).

"…I'm sure you can go around the room and every guy will say just the greatest things about Okie and it probably comes to the point where it might be a broken record, but it is true," Mittelstadt said.
"I mean, he's been here for me, personally, through my whole ride here and anytime we get to see him get rewarded like that and have a big night, it's awesome. And to do in front of such a big crowd too, I think really shows he's our guy and he's our leader."
3. Power and Peterka each recorded two assists, marking the first time two or more Sabres rookies have posted two or more assists in the same game since Kevin Haller, Brad May and Ken Sutton did so in 1991, according to Sabres PR.
4. The Sabres are now 4-0-0 and have outscored their opponents 24-8 while wearing their "goathead" third jerseys.

Up next

The Sabres will close out 2022 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday at TD Garden.
Coverage on MSG begins at 12:30 p.m. The puck drops at 1 on MSG and WGR 550.
The game kicks off a three-game road trip. Buffalo's next home game is Saturday, December 7 against Minnesota. Tickets are on sale now.