With ‘swagger and confidence,’ Samuelsson leads Sabres past Leafs

The Buffalo Sabres were hanging on to their third-period lead, just barely, on Friday at KeyBank Center. The Toronto Maple Leafs had already scored once to pull within a goal, and continued pressure led to a power play with 4:37 remaining.

Goaltender Alex Lyon, a key cog in one of the league’s top penalty kills this season, robbed a wide-open Matias Maccelli in front. Moments later, Owen Power intercepted a pass and sent Alex Tuch in alone on Anthony Stolarz. Tuch, last year’s NHL leader in shorthanded goals, notched his first of the season to secure a 5-3 Sabres win.

“A huge save can turn momentum for you, and Tuch goes down and scores a heck of a goal for us,” coach Lindy Ruff said.

“I felt like I could have made some more timely saves (Monday) in Montreal, and it’s something that I wanted to make sure that I was cognizant of,” added Lyon, who made 31 saves in his third win. “… Credit to [Tuch] for putting the game away. That’s why he’s a great player and great penalty killer.”

Buffalo had built its lead on the strength of defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who finished plus-four with his first-career two-goal game. He twice got lost in coverage, stepped up in the offensive zone and beat Stolarz with perfectly placed shots. The first one opened the scoring 4:38 into the game; the second extended Buffalo’s advantage to 4-2.

“That was a big point for me this year: get involved,” said Samuelsson, with seven tallies in 217 games entering Friday. “It’s no secret I’m not some offensive defenseman like [Rasmus Dahlin], but you can get up and be the forward man and get your chances here and there.”

Goals aside, the 25-year-old has been massively impactful, defensively, to begin his sixth NHL season. Working with a rotating cast of partners – Zach Metsa and Dahlin, in this one – Samuelsson has provided a sturdy defensive presence, calm penalty killing and consistently clean zone exits. Versus Toronto, he blocked four shots in a team-high 23:26 of ice time.

More than 170 defensemen leaguewide have played six or more games this season, and Samuelsson’s 7.90 blocks per 60 minutes rank eighth (teammate Conor Timmins ranks ninth at 7.52).

“He’s been rock solid for us,” Tage Thompson said of his fellow alternate captain. “Obviously, you see the size and the strength, and he’s been very physical back there. Boxing out, good stick, hard to play against right now, which is what we need from him.

“And then obviously he’s chipping in on offense, so we love seeing that; couldn’t happen to a better guy."

Injuries have robbed Samuelsson of a lot of playing time these last few seasons, but when healthy, the 6-foot-4 blueliner is an integral piece of what the Sabres hope to accomplish this season. And he’s well aware of that.

“Worked on some different stuff in the summer, and then just playing with a little more confidence,” Samuelsson said of his impressive start. “When you don’t have confidence out there, and you’re playing every other night, it can be tough sometimes to try to find it on the fly. And I think playing with just a little bit of swagger and confidence in yourself can go a long way.”

Here’s more from the win.

Kozak exits

Sabres forward Tyson Kozak took just three shifts early in the first period before exiting with a lower-body injury. He’ll miss Saturday’s game at Toronto and get imaging for the injury, Ruff said.

Tage breaks through

Thompson entered the night with 27 shots but just one goal, that 3.7 shooting percentage clearly a fluke. In the second period, the two-time 40-goal scorer drifted into the slot and converted on a give-and-go with Bowen Byram, giving the Sabres a 3-2 lead.

“I feel like, in these last seven games, I’ve been getting really good looks and (they) just haven’t been going in for me,” he said. “So, nice to see it go in. Obviously, a little bit of weight off the shoulders, and hopefully I can get hot and start to roll.”

The two-point night also included a secondary assist on Jiri Kulich’s first-period goal. Thompson fed Zach Benson, who one-touched a pass across to Kulich, who roofed it for his third of the season.

Josh Norris’ injury threw an early wrench in Buffalo’s first-line plans, but the trio of Thompson (2+4), Benson (0+7) and Kulich (3+1) has pulled its weight, especially over the last three games.

Heating up

The alarm bells rang during an 0-3-0 start, but the Sabres have responded by winning four of their last five games. In the last two wins, especially, resilient third periods have pulled Buffalo past division rivals.

“I think our fate is we’re going to have to fight and claw for everything that we get, for every point that we get,” Lyon said. “We’re going to have to fight every night, and sometimes it callouses a team and hardens a team.

“You’ve got to let that scare you a little bit, as well,” he added of the three early losses, “To have that fear of slipping back into that is really important, because that’s what drives your details and your daily habits. So, it feels good right now, but it’s going to be a big test tomorrow.”

Up next

The home-and-home set crosses the border for Saturday’s 5 p.m. rematch with the Maple Leafs. Coverage on MSG begins at 4:30.