Sabres view matchup with Blues as opportunity for a successful trip

ST. LOUIS -For all of the emotion shown following an overtime loss to Chicago on Friday night, it's safe to say that the Buffalo Sabres aren't hanging their heads. The team took the ice for practice in Hazelwood, Missouri on Saturday afternoon with a noticeable level of energy and enthusiasm.
As disappointing as their loss in Chicago was, the reality facing the Sabres is that a win on Sunday would send them home from a difficult three-game road trip having taken five out of six points. Their opponent Sunday, the St. Louis Blues, may be the toughest of the three.
"We have an opportunity to take five out of six points against a really good opponent tomorrow and that's the way we should look at it," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "If we look back and look at this road trip as an opportunity to get better and improve, I think we would be happy with that."

Housley said the team had a discussion about execution and mental preparation prior to practice, which is an area that plagued them in Chicago. The Sabres were outshot 51-28 and fed the Blackhawks' rush game with turnovers in the neutral zone.
What allowed the Sabres to maintain a 2-1 lead late in spite of the lopsided shot totals was their work ethic, along with a strong performance from goalie Robin Lehner. The Sabres were physical both along the walls and in front of their own net, and managed to block 31 shots.
With effort and emotion in check, execution stood out as the area of focus on Saturday.
"I thought we did a really good job executing and just played fast out there today," alternate captain Kyle Okposo said. "We just skated. We skated really well and moved our feet. I think we did the right things out there. It was a lot of fun, that's how we've got to play. We've just got to move and work.
"I went up to a couple guys after and just told them that practice was really good, so we've got to bring some of that energy tomorrow."
The Sabres will have to work hard and work smart against the Blues, who matched Tampa Bay for the NHL lead with 42 points following a 6-1 win over Detroit on Saturday. Forward Jaden Schwartz, who is tied for eighth in the NHL with 35 points (14+21) this season, left that game after taking a shot off his ankle.
Even without Schwartz, the Blues still boast a lineup that includes Brayden Schenn (36 points this season) and Vladimir Tarasenko at forward as well as Norris Trophy contender Alex Pietrangelo on the back end.
In other words, it will be a tall task for the Sabres, and one they've chosen to embrace.
"It's a successful trip if you get five out of six points," Okposo said. "We've got one game to go and we've got a St. Louis team that we're really focusing on. If we get the five out of six points then we're going to have to do a lot of good things and we're probably going to have to play a really good hockey game."
Coverage on Sunday begins at 6:30 p.m. EST with GMC Gamenight on MSG-B. You can also listen live on WGR 550, with puck drop set for just after 7.

A strong outing for Girgensons

Zemgus Girgensons has sat as a healthy scratch for the past two games, a decision he admitted was deserved based on his performance. Following a strong outing at practice on Saturday, it may not be long before we see him back in the lineup.
Girgensons had practiced mostly on defense since being scratched earlier in the week, but on Saturday his work ethic was impressive enough to land him back with the forwards. Housley did not rule out the possibility of seeing him join the lineup on Sunday.
"I thought this was one of his best practices in a long time so we'll make that decision tomorrow," Housley said. "It's good to see him with a little jump in his step and controlling the play in the small game area. He brought some really good energy today."
Girgensons has scored three points (1+2) in 24 games this season, and had gone 19 games without a point prior to being scratched. When asked if it was simply production that led to him being kept out of the lineup, he admitted he felt he had more to give effort-wise as well.
The key word Girgensons used was "desperation," which is what he'll be looking to show whenever he does reenter the lineup.
"I wasn't performing at my best and it wasn't good enough," Girgensons said. "Sometimes you need a kick in your back a little bit to give you back that fire, that anger to want to be out there and do more for the team.
" … Definitely, the production isn't good enough and the work ethic can be higher. I know that. Everyone's seen from me that I can be better in that area. Everything just needs to be better."

Something to build on

Okposo's goal on Friday not only snapped a five-game scoreless drought for the forward, it also served as a glimpse of what we saw so often during his All-Star campaign last season. Okposo received a pass in the high slot and, without hesitation, delivered a precise shot into the corner of the net.
"He delivered a really precise shot there," Housley said. "That's what we all know Kyle can do. Hopefully this is continued and he can build confidence off that last game."
Okposo said he felt he's had an abundance of chances over the past 15 games, he just hasn't been able to bury them. He practiced on a line with Benoit Pouliot and Ryan O'Reilly on Saturday, so he'll have an opportunity to use his goal in Chicago as a launching pad.
"I'm just trying to build off that," he said. "Just trying to keep growing, keep trying to take advantage of my opportunities. I think I've had some opportunities, I just haven't put them in the back of the net. That one definitely felt good to go in."

Saturday's practice

Rasmus Ristolainen and Zach Bogosian both were absent for maintenance days. Ristolainen has skated 30-plus minutes in back-to-back games, including a season-high 31:44 in Chicago on Friday, while Bogosian has averaged 19:04 in four games since returning from a lower-body injury on Dec. 1.
With both defensemen absent, here's how the Sabres lineup looked at practice:
9 Evander Kane - 15 Jack Eichel - 29 Jason Pominville
67 Benoit Pouliot - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 21 Kyle Okposo
20 Seth Griffith - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 23 Sam Reinhart
17 Jordan Nolan - 22 Johan Larsson - 24 Hudson Fasching / 28 Zemgus Girgensons
Defensemen: 4 Josh Gorges, 6 Marco Scandella, 19 Jake McCabe, 41 Justin Falk, 93 Victor Antipin
40 Robin Lehner
31 Chad Johnson