‘The energy is unbelievable here’ | Happy with new home, Carrick makes instant impact

The Buffalo Sabres have gotten contributions from up and down the lineup during their 27-5-2 run to the top of the Atlantic Division. In Saturday's 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators at KeyBank Center, the new guy joined in on the fun.

Sam Carrick leaned in for defensive-zone draws with 34 and three seconds left, against one of the NHL’s best faceoff men in Ryan O’Reilly, and won them both. The latter killed the clock for a sixth straight Sabres victory.

Faceoffs were top of mind when Buffalo acquired the veteran center from the New York Rangers before Friday’s trade deadline. Carrick is 53.8 percent at the dot this season, and the team has needed a boost in that department.

“Early on in the game, I was actually struggling in the dot a little bit, just wasn’t finding my groove,” said Carrick, who went 4-for-8 in his Sabres debut. “But definitely glad I won those last two. Obviously, it’s a big part of what they want to see from me when they brought me in, so to win two at the end there was nice.”

Added Tage Thompson, who scored his 34th goal of the season, of Carrick’s faceoffs: “They add up and they win you hockey games. They may not look sexy, but it gets the job done. The addition with him has been great.”

The Sabres had little going for them over the first half of the game. They managed no shots on goal in the first 13 minutes and just two in the opening period. Things didn’t get any better to start the second, when Zachary L’Heureux put Nashville ahead 1-0.

“Maybe we thought it was going to be easier. The first period, we deferred to passing up some good opportunities, missed the net on a couple. Didn’t go north in a hurry, hung onto pucks,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “… The first period was nowhere near the way we needed to play.”

The team and its sellout crowd needed a jolt of energy, and the alternate captain Thompson provided it, ripping a shot that deflected off a Nashville body and past goalie Juuse Saros to tie it 1-1.

“Even on the bench, just his poise, and understanding that we’re one or two Tage shots away from being in the lead or tying the game up,” said Josh Doan. “.. He kind of mellows us out a bit there when things are getting a little rocky.”

Less than two minutes later, Jack Quinn’s shot leaked through Saros, and linemate Jason Zucker dove to poke in the go-ahead goal. Quinn had recently struggled off the ice and gone down the tunnel after blocking a shot with his knee, but he returned quickly and was rewarded with the primary assist.

The teams traded goals in the third period – Doan on the opening shift, Nashville’s Matthew Wood with 3:52 remaining – to set the stage for Carrick’s late faceoffs.

Winning has been the Sabres’ M.O. for the last three months, and the rest of the league has taken notice. Now, additions like Carrick are getting their first look from inside the city, arena and locker room. So far, so good.

“It’s been an absolute blast,” Carrick said. “I’ve only been here for a day now, but just the energy is unbelievable here. Obviously, they’ve got a great group, they’ve done great things this year so far, and I’m just coming in trying to complement it as best I can.”

Here’s more from the win.

‘Relieved to have heard Buffalo’

Getting traded is typically a whirlwind, and Carrick was no exception. He said goodbye to his kids, packed the car and made the six-hour drive to Buffalo on Friday.

“You don’t know when you’re gonna see them again,” he said. “For them, too, it’s hard, but I think at the end of the day, it’s all gonna be worth it. Once I do get them out here, they’re gonna see how much they love it – how well this organization treats their guys, how passionate the fans are.”

Carrick’s hometown of Stouffville, Ontario, is about two hours from Buffalo. Under contract through next season, the 34-year-old is more than happy with his unexpected new home.

“It’s always a shock, even if you kind of know [a trade is] coming,” Carrick said. “I had no idea what teams were calling, so it really could have been anywhere. And I was just relieved that (it’s) close to where I live back home in the summers, and family. Lots of people can come and visit.

“Just relieved to have heard Buffalo.”

Doan breaks the dam

Six straight games without a goal had started weighing on Doan, the winger admitted postgame. To get back on the board, he hounded veteran defenseman Brady Skjei into a turnover, drove to the net and scored on a perfect Josh Norris feed. It was a signature Doan shift, and it proved to be the game winner.

Doan, Norris and Noah Ostlund led 8-3 in scoring chances during their 5-on-5 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick, and the line is looking more dangerous by the game.

“[Norris] is an exceptional player, and obviously someone we missed when he was out for a while,” said Doan, whose 19 goals rank third on the team. “Him and Osty do a good job of filling the middle and coming up the ice with speed, so it’s been really fun getting a chance to play with them.

“I think you’ve seen the last couple games where we’ve had a lot of chances and haven’t been scoring a ton, but you can kind of feel that start to come here a little bit.”

Lyon wins again

Goaltender Alex Lyon made 23 saves on 25 shots, improving to 3-0-0 with a .940 save percentage since the Olympic break. He and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have alternated starts since the break, and neither has done anything to change that plan.

Lyon was at his best when Buffalo needed him most, making five saves during a second-period power play while trailing 1-0.

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres and Lightning face off again Sunday at 6 p.m. at KeyBank Center, a rematch of last Saturday’s chippy road win.

They remain tied atop the Atlantic Division with 82 points. Tampa Bay has played two fewer games.