How Sabres shut down McDavid, Draisaitl in 5-1 win

When Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff preached defensive improvement throughout training camp, he probably had a performance like Monday’s in mind.

The Edmonton Oilers typically carry play with one or both of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice, but Monday was a different story, as the Sabres mostly silenced the superstar forwards en route to a 5-1 win.

• Recap: Ostlund, Malenstyn lead offensive charge versus Edmonton

During McDavid’s 20:04 of 5-on-5 ice time, Buffalo had the advantage in shot attempts (23-19), shots on goal (11-9) and scoring chances (17-6) and held a 71-percent share of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. The Sabres led in those categories during Draisaitl’s 19:37 of 5-on-5 play, too, including a 66-percent expected goal share. And when those guys joined forces late in the game, as they often do with Edmonton trailing, they only fared slightly better.

Home ice and the last change allowed Ruff to deploy his best defenders – Mattias Samuelsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram and/or Conor Timmins – for nearly all of McDavid’s and Draisaitl’s shifts.

“I thought everyone was super dialed into the details last night,” said Timmins, who finished plus-one with three hits and a shot block. “As a competitor, everyone wants to go up against the best players and show that they’re capable of shutting those guys down. We take a lot of pride in that.”

"It was a good night to have everybody doing the right thing at the right time," added Ruff.

McDavid and Draisaitl combined for just six total shot attempts, compared to their season average of 10.2 per game. Goalie Colten Ellis saved three; the other three missed the net. Here they are:

A look at each one, with insight from Ruff and Timmins:

1. Four Sabres close on Draisaitl, their stickwork forcing the puck out of the high slot and out of danger. “We stressed trying to stay five in tight," Ruff said. "We knew we’d probably have to give up some ice through the neutral zone, but make sure we have numbers back where we’re not giving the easy opportunities.”

2. McDavid charges ahead to start Edmonton’s only power play, but with Samuelsson stepping up above the faceoff dot, McDavid settles for a longer-range attempt and misses the net.

3. On that same power play, Draisaitl drifts away from his usual right-flank position and receives a goal-line pass from McDavid. With Timmins in the shooting lane, Draisaitl misses on a wide-angle shot. “The top players in the league just play almost like a rover position, and especially those two, they’re always looking for each other," Timmins said. "So, you just have to be hyper aware.”

4. A harmless center-ice redirection from McDavid, who’s covered closely by Beck Malenstyn and Tyson Kozak.

5. Dahlin turns it over to Draisaitl, but Buffalo’s captain gets back in position to force another wide-angle shot from Draisaitl. “Especially when Elly’s behind us playing as well as he did, they’re not gonna get much from the outside of the ice, so if we can protect the middle, that’s huge for us," noted Timmins.

6. One of Edmonton’s best chances of the night, from Draisaitl in his danger zone, but Ellis gets across for his 28th of 32 saves.

The Sabres also got physically involved with McDavid and Draisaitl throughout the game. Here are the three official hits on those guys, courtesy of Alex Tuch, Timmins and Samuelsson.

“Anytime you can get a body on them and slow them down, take away their speed through the neutral zone especially, that’s really helpful, and I think we made a conscious effort of doing that,” Timmins said.

Timmins made somewhat of a calculated risk when he pursued the elusive McDavid into the corner, but his pressure led to Bowen Byram's clearing the zone moments later.

“You want to force him into tight areas and then wait for support from teammates," the defenseman continued.

That support was the key to one of the Sabres’ best all-around performances this season and a decisive home-ice win. Here’s more from Tuesday’s practice at KeyBank Center.

Lines and injury updates

• Samuelsson, Ellis and forward Jordan Greenway each missed practice for maintenance reasons. Zach Metsa filled in for Samuelsson on the first pair, and Josh Norris – skating in a non-contact jersey – took reps in Greenway’s third-line spot. Otherwise, the lines were unchanged from Monday’s win.
• Jason Zucker, too, practiced again in a non-contact sweater.
• Zach Benson remained absent, but Ruff said he expects the forward to participate in Wednesday’s morning skate. It would be his first team on-ice session since being placed on injured reserve Oct. 31 with a lower-body injury.
• Michael Kesselring will miss “weeks,” Ruff said, with his lower-body injury.
• Injuries and transactions | Latest on Benson, Kesselring, Norris, Zucker, others.

Resting Lyon

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has backed up Ellis for the last two games, while Alex Lyon has been a healthy scratch. Per Ruff, that’s just to give the 32-year-old veteran some rest after his busy start to the season.

“Let’s say we use him Friday, or whatever it is, why have him sitting on the bench (before then)?,” Ruff said.

Lyon, who started 10 of the Sabres' first 13 games, has a .907 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average in 12 games. He last played Thursday at Colorado but was pulled after allowing two early goals on three shots.

Up next

The Sabres host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Tickets are available here.

MSG's pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. before puck drop at 7:30.