The Sabres will look to keep that feeling going tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Pregame coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop set for 7.
Buffalo is looking to rebound from an overtime loss in Columbus on Monday, a game in which the team admittedly did not have its best but still managed to erase two deficits and salvage a point on the road.
Sabres Ralph Krueger reflected positively on that game Tuesday, treating it as a valuable experience for a team that's in the process of establishing an identity. Though Hutton did not play in that game - Linus Ullmark made his first start of the season and stopped 40 shots - he said he saw a similarly positive response in the dressing room.
"It's one of those things," Hutton said. "I don't think we played our best game. I think everybody's aware of that. We tried to learn from it. But then on the other side of it, we got a point.
"There's other good teams. Everybody's good in this league, right? Everybody can beat anybody on any given night so it's one of those things where we know we didn't have our best and we found a way to get a point. That's where we kind of tip our cap, move on, learn from it and get back to work."
The matchup begins a three-game homestand for the Sabres, who host another Atlantic Division rival in the Florida Panthers on Friday and then welcome the Dallas Stars for a 3 p.m. contest next Monday.
The Sabres beat the Devils 7-2 in their home opener, a night that began with a ceremony that saw 15 former captains join Jack Eichel at center ice. The atmosphere only grew from there, the product of a couple big hits and a high-octane offensive attack.
"I think that's something as a team we want to pride ourselves on," Hutton said. "When teams come in here it's our team and it's our fans and it's our city that makes this a tough place to come play and we're going to make you earn everything you get here."
