BUFFALO – On the bench in the third period, as the Sabres began playing a little too conservative for coach Lindy Ruff’s liking, center Tage Thompson urged his teammates to hit the accelerator again.
A 2-0 lead can vanish in a hurry, especially against a heavyweight opponent like the Dallas Stars. Ruff, of course, wants his players to keep playing aggressively when they’re ahead, a message Thompson relayed.
“He was the one guy on the bench that got vocal and just said, ‘We’ve got to start making some plays,’” Ruff said following the Sabres’ 4-2 win, their second consecutive triumph.
Thompson backed up his words, setting up his own goal by carrying the puck into the Dallas zone and dishing it to a trailing Owen Power as he raced to join the play. Thompson hurried to the left circle, then one-timed the defenseman’s pass by goalie Jake Oettinger at 4:17 for the critical third goal.
“A goal like that deflates them,” said Thompson, who has scored four goals and seven points during his five-game point streak. “Even if you’re not scoring, getting chances like that just gets them back on their heels and kind of gets you in the driver’s seat.”
Ruff said Thompson “took charge.”
“That’s what you want to see out of the leaders on your team,” he said.
Right now, that team is 3-4-1 this season and starting to find a groove and perhaps its identity. If the Sabres climb up the standings and earn that elusive playoff berth, remember Tuesday’s win before a crowd of 13,014 fans in KeyBank Center.
The Stars began the night having lost just once this season. When Sabres center Ryan McLeod scored 13:44 into the second period, extending his goal streak to four games, it marked the first time the Stars had trailed by two goals in their seven contests.
Forget that the Stars scored two late goals with Oettinger on the bench for an extra attacker before winger Alex Tuch’s empty-net goal sealed the game.
“That little bit doesn’t mar the fact I thought we played really well all night,” Ruff said.
Ruff’s impact is starting to show. For example, in some of their recent games, even losses, the Sabres have displayed much quicker decision-making.
“Lindy’s done a good job of allowing us to have no hesitation,” said center Peyton Krebs, who opened the scoring by batting in a deflection off the crossbar 12:21 into the second period. “We know the game plan and we know what to do. As long as we continue to do that, we’re gonna see success, and it’s showing.
“We obviously have a long ways to go still, but this is a great start and we’re looking forward to seeing where it goes.”
Thompson said the Sabres, the NHL’s youngest team, are “more mature.”
“We got a lot of guys that have been here for a while, a lot of young guys that have learned,” he said. “I think the biggest thing for us is puck management. There’s a lot of times in the past where we come out and we want to create offense and that’s a great thing to have, but at the risk of making plays at their blue line or your blue line that gives them offense. It just gets you chasing the game.
“I think so far, everyone’s just committed to the game plan that we’re just going to put pucks behind them, we’re going to stay on the D side of pucks.”
He added: “We’re playing a lot better hockey than our record shows right now.”
The Sabres’ secondary scoring has helped buoy their short streak. Krebs, the fourth-line center, scored his first goal this season. His linemate, Beck Malenstyn, scored in Saturday’s 4-2 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks and assisted on his goal.
McLeod, the third-line center, has scored four goals, the team’s second-highest total behind Thompson’s five.
Krebs and McLeod scored just 1:23 apart.
“It’s important to any team,” Ruff said of the secondary scoring. “We’ve seen a little bit now, (the) Malenstyn goal in Chicago, now Krebs getting us started. McLeod again getting on the score sheet. The strength of a club is if you can get scoring and good defending out of every line.”
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves. He lost his shutout when Thomas Harley scored 15:24 into the third period. Tyler Seguin scored Dallas’ other goal.
Power registered three assists, tying his career high.
Amari Cooper certainly seemed like a perfect fit for the #Bills in his first game. Why Sunday was an example of what the offense should look like moving forward. Plus, the #Sabres are showing life. @BillHoppeNHL and I talk about all of it. https://t.co/ksTfzNrjGT
— Nick Sabato (@NickSabatoGNN) October 23, 2024
It was the best game I’ve seen the Sabres play in 2 years. Great effort & energy. Outstanding goaltending. Relentless pressure on the forecheck. Quick, crisp passing.
We dominated a very good team. The only weakness was we couldn’t win a faceoff with 6 minutes to go, which cost us 2 goals and nearly the game. Ostlund is a player who can help us there.