Sabres rally around sellout crowd, extend win streak to seven games

Johan Larsson has played 273 games spanning six seasons as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.
As he skated toward the tunnel at the end of the first period on Wednesday night - tossing his helmet while his teammates reacted jovially to a goal and a fight in the span three seconds - the atmosphere at KeyBank Center was unlike anything he'd seen before.
"Probably not that," Larsson said. "It was a really good atmosphere in the first. It really got you going."

Larsson scored with 7.4 seconds remaining in the period to send the Sabres into the first intermission with a four-goal lead in what would end as a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The victory gives the Sabres their first seven-game winning streak since they won 10 in a row to open the 2006-07 season.

From the moment the team stepped onto the ice to a standing ovation, the energy in the building felt reminiscent of that Presidents' Trophy run, too.
"I figured with the 7:30 game and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, they might have a couple alcoholic beverages in them before so they're going to be a little rowdy," defenseman Jake McCabe, who earned second star honors, said in regards to the fans.
"We definitely fed off that early. We were pumped up to get out there. We just really rallied around their energy. It was blast."
Alcoholic beverages may have had less to do with it than the six pack of wins the Sabres carried into the game, the last three of which came on the road. While the team won in Winnipeg, Minnesota and Pittsburgh, the buzz back home in Buffalo grew louder.
The only aspect of the Sabres' road trip that left something to be desired was their starts, so much so that Tage Thompson said it was written on the white board in their dressing room. A raucous sellout crowd proved to be the remedy for that.
"I think the crowd was electric from puck drop on," forward Evan Rodrigues said. "I think we fed off that and got off to a huge start. That carries us the rest of the way."
Jeff Skinner opened the scoring 3:38 into the contest with his 15th goal of the season. Thompson and Rodrigues added a pair of goals within the next six minutes as the Sabres took 10 of the game's first 12 shots.
The Sabres took one last rush as the final seconds of the period ticked off the clock, on which Larsson roofed a shot past Flyers goalie Alex Lyon for his first goal of the season. He dropped the gloves with Scott Laughton on the ensuing faceoff, prompting pandemonium both in the stands and on the Buffalo bench.

"Loved it," McCabe said. "Larry plays with such an edge. We call him 'Angry Larry' for a reason. He's an angry Swede out there, but that's just Larry for you. He has a great goal then a second after, drops the glove at center ice with the other centerman.
"The building was going crazy. It's a lot of fun to play in front of that crowd."
The Flyers, coming off their own comeback in an overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday, made a push with goals from Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds in the second period. The Sabres held tight in the third, ending the threat with an empty-net goal from Sam Reinhart with 1:38 remaining.
Goaltending and the penalty kill, two crucial components for the Sabres throughout this run, came up big once again. Carter Hutton made 23 saves for his sixth win in a row, a career-best streak. The team killed the only penalty it took to improve to 19 for its last 20.
The win improved Buffalo's record at KeyBank Center this season to 7-2-1, marking their best start at home since 2009-10. They'll wake up on Thanksgiving morning tied for second in the Eastern Conference with 30 points, one back from the first-place Lightning.
"I think it's a testament to the guys putting in the work every day, coming here and just trying to get better," Sabres captain Jack Eichel, who extended his point streak to four games with an assist, said.
"I think that's what we've done. With that being said, it's November. It's Thanksgiving tomorrow. There's so much of our season left. We want to keep doing it. Your objective is to win every game."
That doesn't mean the fun has to stop, especially with the Montreal Canadiens coming into town on Friday.
"I don't think this room has any plan of stopping," Rodrigues said. "We're going to do whatever we can to keep this rolling. It's a good feeling."

Rodrigues nets his first

Rodrigues was a healthy scratch for three contests entering Wednesday with no goals despite ranking sixth on the team in shots per game. He was placed on the top power play in his return to the lineup, a move that paid off when he collected a loose puck in front and buried his first-period marker.

Rodrigues finished the game with six shot attempts in 15:55 and drew a crucial penalty while the Flyers were pushing to come back in the third. He was recognized afterward as the game's first star.
"It was definitely huge to get that proverbial monkey off the back," Rodrigues said. "It's the first of many, I feel like. I'm just going to continue to play with confidence and continue to shoot the puck, and I feel like I'll get rewarded."

Thompson scores again

It took 21 games, seven of which he was a healthy scratch, for Thompson to tally his first goal as a Sabre in Pittsburgh on Monday. The wait for his second was considerably shorter.
The 21-year-old forward forced a turnover in the neutral zone, caught a pass from Vladimir Sobotka toward the top of the left circle and boxed out Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas as he cut to the net, burying a shot for his second goal in as many contests.

Thompson concluded the night with two shots and two hits in 12:03.
"It feels good obviously any time you score and more importantly the team's winning and playing well so it's really fun hockey right now," he said. "We've just got to keep it going."

Up next

The Sabres will look to make it eight in a row when they host the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center on Friday. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 3:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night pregame show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 4.