3 days Ago
ANAHEIM – Jiri Kulich pumped his fist in the air and hugged Peyton Krebs as the Sabres left their bench to celebrate the rookie’s game-winning goal Friday night in Honda Center. “I’m glad it went in,” the 20-year-old center said with a smile after his second career NHL goal gave the Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Alex Tuch bulldozed Isac Lundestrom at the Sabres’ defensive blue line to force a turnover and create an odd-man rush.
Ducks goalie John Gibson stopped Owen Power’s 2-on-1 chance, but Kulich raced to the loose puck and scored while Tuch outmuscled Lundestrom in front of Anaheim’s net. The Sabres (10-9-1) have won six of their last eight games and took over the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card playoff spot. They also moved above .
500 after failing to do so twice last week, but they needed a comeback to prevent the Ducks (8-8-3) from playing the role of spoiler. Anaheim took a 2-0 lead with 5:53 left in the second period when Lundestrom tipped the puck past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Sabres didn’t seem fazed, though.
Tuch and Jason Zucker scored 50 seconds apart to tie the score, giving them all the momentum entering the final 20 minutes of regulation. “You’ve got to find ways to win those games,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. “They’re hard to win, but you’ve got to give the group a lot of credit.
We gained a lot of momentum there at the end of the second.” Patience was at the center of Ruff’s message to his players entering the third period. He didn’t want to see reckless turnovers.
If the Sabres were going to score before overtime, they were going to do it through excellent defense. Power nearly beat Gibson with a shot from the slot through traffic, but both goalies made clutch saves in the third period to get the game to overtime. Kulich isn’t typically one of Ruff’s top options in overtime, but the Sabres were again without injured forwards Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway.
Shifting to center seemed to unlock Kulich’s speed and playmaking ability. He was also winning faceoffs, which gave Ruff the confidence to use him in high-leverage situations. Kulich lost one in the defensive zone with 1:30 left in overtime, however, Tuch knocked over Lundestrom to create the rush that led to the game-winning goal.
Kulich won 8-of-11 faceoffs, played 15:16 and the Sabres outshot the Ducks 10-2 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick. “I always knew that I have to play wing or center (in the NHL), but I feel so confident at center, to be honest,” said Kulich. “I really appreciate coach trusted me and put me at center.
I have more speed as a center, so it’s great for me.” The Sabres’ even-strength offense delivered on a night when they were unable to score a power-play goal for an eighth consecutive game. Their penalty kill went 2-for-2 – they’re 26-for-29 over the past 12 games – and Luukkonen made 23 saves.
He’s 5-0 with a .956 save percentage in the last five games that he’s finished. It wasn’t a tight-checking performance like the Sabres’ 1-0 win Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Luukkonen needed to make several impressive saves as there was chaos around him throughout the game against the Ducks. But the Sabres had 33 shots on goal, matched Anaheim’s physicality and showed again that they’re learning how to overcome challenging situations. “As we grow as a team – we’re still really young obviously – we’re learning, and those are the types of games we’ve got to win,” said Krebs.
Here are other takeaways from the game: 1. Taking over This was another remarkable performance by Tuch. Remember, he’s playing through a lower-body injury that kept him out of practice Monday and required “maintenance” Wednesday before the game against the Kings, yet Tuch had a two-point night against the Ducks with a goal and an assist.
Krebs was initially credited with Buffalo’s first goal, but one of Anaheim’s players knocked the puck over the line after Tuch tipped Power’s shot. Tuch was second among Sabres forwards in ice time (19:01) and made three impressive plays on the shift that ended with Kulich’s goal. “Tuchy made a great play at the blue line,” said Power.
2. Developing Fans want to see Power hit more often, and he occasionally struggles to defend around his own net. Don’t allow those aspects of his play to overshadow the flashes of brilliance.
Remember how long it took for Rasmus Dahlin to become a complete player? Defensemen need more time. Power’s only 22 years old and outstanding in so many important areas. His shot led to Tuch’s goal, then Power’s poke check in the defensive zone sprung Zucker for the breakaway that the 32-year-old winger used to tie it 2-2 with 33 seconds left in the second period.
Power had two assists Friday, and his 15 even-strength points lead all NHL defensemen. The assist on Zucker’s goal was the product of a heads-up defensive play. “I knew the guy was in a spot to score if he got the puck, so I was just worried about getting a stick on it and break it up,” said Power.
“Luckily, it went everyone’s head and Zuck was there for a breakaway and a great finish.” 3. Response Connor Clifton didn’t hesitate when the Sabres defenseman saw Ducks captain Radko Gudas’ big hit on Zucker.
Clifton confronted Gudas, then the two traded punches. The hit was clean, but Clifton understood that it’s important to send a message to the other team that the Sabres aren’t going to be pushed around. Zach Benson went after Jansen Harkins for a hit on Cozens later in the second period, though it was more of a retaliation cross-check than a fight.
Benson was given a double-minor, but Ruff still liked that the second-year winger stepped up for Cozens. “They had a couple hard hits, but we answered,” said Ruff. “The group is gaining this togetherness that will allow us the confidence to try to string some games together.
” 4. Positive signs There were some encouraging signs from Jack Quinn in the first period Friday night. The Sabres winger cut across the slot and challenged John Gibson with a high shot, but the Ducks goalie used his blocker to make the save.
Quinn’s centering pass later in the period set up Jiri Kulich for multiple shots from near Anaheim’s crease. Quinn has only one goal and five points through 19 games. He has three games with three or more shots on goal.
Expectations were high for Quinn based on his impact when he was healthy in 27 games last season, but as assistant coach Seth Appert pointed out recently, it’s natural for a young player with Quinn’s NHL experience, or lack thereof, to have their development impacted by missing that much time. 5. Next The Sabres wrap the road trip night with a game Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks in SAP Center at 8 p.
m., Eastern. Buffalo’s next game is KeyBank Center is Wednesday when the Sabres host the Minnesota Wild.
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