Okposo feeling benefits of healthy offseason

SAN JOSE - Kyle Okposo burst into the offensive zone as if he had been shot out of cannon. With the Buffalo Sabres trailing 2-0 in the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, their alternate captain took it upon himself to set the tone and turned in the shift of the night.
Okposo sped through the neutral zone and chipped the puck in deep, then rushed past Cody Eakin and Brad Hunt to secure it along the end boards. He maintained possession as he swung behind the net and cut to the slot, where he created a scoring chance for linemate Casey Mittelstadt.
When Mittelstadt's shot went wide, Okposo was again the first to retrieve it behind the net, this timing proceeding to carry it all the way to the blue line for a cycle with defenseman Jake McCabe, which nearly created another scoring chance.

"I think we just needed a shift," Okposo said. "I tried to take it upon myself to score a goal. I thought I gave us a little life, I thought we had some good shifts after that. We've just got to do that more, just try and take control and not think so much. Just play."

The Sabres lost the game, 4-1, but Okposo's play might mean as much in the big picture. The images on that second-period shift and others throughout the game were reminiscent of his first season in Buffalo, one that earned him a spot on the Atlantic Division All-Star team prior to a season-ending concussion.
The effects of that concussion bled into the summer, preventing the forward from crucial aspects of his offseason regiment that affected him throughout last season. Okposo entered camp this year with a full summer of training under his belt and the desire to prove he can still be elite.
Six games in, he said he can feel the difference.
"I feel good," he said. "I mean, I feel exponentially better than I did last season. I think it's there. It's just getting over that hump and breaking through. I think that it's coming. I just have to try and up the intensity and make sure I'm bringing it every shift. But that base is there."
You could see that base in Vegas. When Okposo has been on his game in the past, he's been able to use his body to win battles on the forcheck ...
... and box out defenders as he creates lanes to the net:
The next step for Okposo is finding the back of the net. His three points this season are all assists; the one goal he did score was overturned for goalie interference. But he's generated plenty of grade-A chances since joining a line with Jeff Skinner and Mittelstadt in Arizona on Saturday.
Okposo ranks third on the team with 14 shots this season and fourth with a Corsi-for percentage of 51.61, an indicator he's spent more time in the offensive zone than not. (Skinner ranks second on the team at 54.36 percent, per NaturalStatTrick.com.)
"I think we had a lot of good shifts," Okposo said. "I thought our line played really well yesterday, we just couldn't get over that hump to score a goal. It's been a while.
"… We're working and we're getting some opportunities. The puck's going to go in. We've just got to keep shooting and keep working like we are."
"Yeah, definitely," Mittelstadt added. "I think there was a lot of chances and getting the first one is by far the hardest. We'll find one soon and build off that. Like I said before, once you get one it seems to all open up."

Wednesday's practice

The Sabres took the ice at SAP Center in preparation for their matchup with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The message from Phil Housley: To score more at even strength, they're going to need to get bodies to the net.
"Five-on-five differential, you're going to hear that a lot from me, but that's the difference between winning and losing," Housley said. "Obviously, your special teams have to play an important role, but you can't count on them all the time because it's not going to happen all the time.
"Five-on-five is something we can control, and I think just getting to the net, getting more traffic there was a big focus today."
The Sabres were 0-for-6 on the power play in their loss to Vegas, something they also spent ample time on in practice on Wednesday. But they also didn't score at even-strength until Vladimir Sobotka crashed in to clean up a rebound in the game's final minute.

That goal, Housley said, was an example of what the team should be doing from the get-go.
"We come, we enter the zone wide, we put a puck in the net, we get a middle-lane drive and we score a goal," he said. "It's a very simplistic game, but when we do it well and we're playing fast, we're a very good hockey team."
Patrik Berglund was limited in practice due to a minor injury. Remi Elie took the majority of reps on a line with Sobotka and Tage Thompson in his place. Berglund's playing status for Thursday has not been determined.
Here's how the team lined up in full on Wednesday:
43 Conor Sheary - 9 Jack Eichel - 23 Sam Reinhart
53 Jeff Skinner - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 21 Kyle Okposo
81 Remi Elie / 10 Patrik Berglund - 17 Vladimir Sobotka - 72 Tage Thompson
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville
6 Marco Scandella - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
19 Jake McCabe - 26 Rasmus Dahlin
82 Nathan Beaulieu - 4 Zach Bogosian
22 Johan Larsson* - 8 Casey Nelson
*Extra forward skating on defense