Eichel tallies 4 points, Lehner makes 33 saves in shutout win over Oilers

EDMONTON -While an overtime win over Calgary on Monday night came as a sigh of relief for the Buffalo Sabres, it also came with one caveat. That victory would amount to little, Phil Housley said, if the Sabres were unable to build on it against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Not only did the Sabres come out on less than 24 hours rest with the same compete level and attention to detail that they exhibited in Calgary, they outplayed an Oilers team that had been off since Saturday on their way to a lopsided 5-0 victory. It was, Housley said, one of the team's best games this season from an execution standpoint.
It was only three days ago that the Sabres were on the other end of a lopsided score, a 7-1 loss to Dallas at home on Saturday. The players were embarrassed with the result of that game, and they've responded with their first back-to-back wins since Oct. 21 and 24.

"I think we learned a lot of what we need to do as a team in our checking and our play without the puck," Housley said. "I think the guys are really enjoying that. They're getting opportunities because of it. And we're getting the puck on our stick because of that, we're drawing penalties. We've got to continue to play that way."'

Jack Eichel scored a goal and three assists to match his career-high with four points. Sam Reinhart also matched his career-high three points (1+2), Ryan O'Reilly scored a pair of goals and Kyle Okposo tallied a pair of assists. Zemgus Girgensons also found the back of the net.
Robin Lehner, taking the net for the first time since being pulled in the second period of that loss to Dallas, made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season. A nice personal response, perhaps, but Lehner said the result was truly a testament to the Sabres' potential when they support one another up the ice.
"We're just playing together," Lehner said. "Our game is not spread out, we're not doing things by ourselves. We're playing in units. When one guy makes a mistake, another guy is there to help out. It's simple as it might sound. It's us sticking to what coach draws on the board and working hard and wanting it a little bit more. This is what happens."
The Sabres brought it from the opening puck drop, outshooting the Oilers 15-7 and taking the lead on a power-play goal from Reinhart with 5:04 remaining in the first period. It took just 17 seconds into the following period for O'Reilly to score on a rebound in front of Oilers goalie Cam Talbot.

The Sabres would score three more times in the second period, all in the span of 10 minutes. Girgensons scored on a 2-on-1 feed from Okposo, followed by power-play goals from Eichel and O'Reilly, respectively. Talbot was chased after allowing four goals on 22 shots.
Buffalo pounced on an Edmonton penalty kill that entered the night with success rate of just 55.9 percent at home, ranking last in the NHL. Buffalo's power play had been a source of frustration earlier in the season, but the Sabres entered the night with extra-man goals in four of their last six games.
On this night, Buffalo's top unit of Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Okposo and Rasmus Ristolainen more closely resembled the power play that led the entire NHL last season. Two goals - from Reinhart and Eichel - were the product of Reinhart's presence at the net front, while O'Reilly's goal stemmed from quick, precise puck movement that resulted in an open shot from the slot.

"Right now we're all on the same page, and I think that was evident tonight," Reinhart said. "We all have fun with each other out there when we're playing like that, reading and reacting off each other. When there is a game plan we know where each other [are], but a lot of it's reading off each other and that's when we're at our best."
The Sabres now have a chance to sweep their road trip in Western Canada with a win in Vancouver on Thursday. Eichel, amidst the satisfaction of a well-played game, said it's imperative that the Sabres remember what's made the difference between being on the losing end of lopside games and winning them.
"I think it's important for us to realize what got us to this position, winning this game, and why we had success tonight," he said. "Obviously, we took care of the puck, but I thought we did a real good job at getting the puck back when we didn't have it. I thought we took their time and space away, we were good in the neutral zone and I thought our D did a good job breaking the puck out.
"It's a recipe for success in a game like this."

Eichel's streak reaches seven

Eichel now has 14 points (5+9) during his seven-game point streak and 25 points (12+13) in 16 games dating back to his hat trick on Dec. 15. He's now averaging more than a point-per-game this season with 49 points in 48 contests.

"Jack's leading us the right way," Housley said. "He's playing well on both ends. His defensive responsibilities, he's taken that to heart. And when he gets an opportunity to use his speed through the neutral zone and attack the game, he's done a terrific job."

These guys stayed hot, too

Buffalo's big names drove the bus on Tuesday, and many of them continued hot streaks of their own.
O'Reilly now has eight points (4+4) in his last seven games, Okposo has nine (2+7) in his last six and Reinhart has six (2+4) in his last four.
Ristolainen tallied two assists to give him 12 points (3+9) in his last 11 games, which is the third-highest mark by a defenseman in that span.

It's been a while

If it feels like it's been a long since the Sabres last won a game in such lopsided fashion, it's because it has. The 5-0 score was Buffalo's largest margin of victory since a 6-0 win over Boston on Feb. 8, 2012. Jason Pominville scored two goals in that game, while Ryan Miller made 36 saves for the shutout.

Up next

The Sabres will look to sweep their road trip when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 9:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 10.