BUFFALO – Few envisioned the long and often arduous path Peyton Krebs would take to becoming what coach Lindy Ruff called one of the Sabres’ “drivers.”
Krebs, 25, needed more than three years to get here. He struggled for stretches, sometimes failing to meet the lofty expectations that accompany high-end prospects. He reinvented himself, earning his keep as a high-octane checking forward willing to showcase a rugged style and drop the gloves.
At times, it felt like Krebs, a forward the Sabres pried away from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Jack Eichel trade, might need a fresh start somewhere else.
But the versatile Krebs, like many of his teammates, has enjoyed a career-changing stretch over the past several months.
On Tuesday against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center, he’s expected to skate at left wing on the top line alongside center Tage Thompson, a prime spot he has regularly occupied since early December.
If the Sabres win – they have an NHL-best 13-2-2 record since the Olympic break ended – they will reach the 100-point mark for the 10th time in franchise history and move one step closer to securing their first playoff berth in 15 years.
Krebs, the 17th overall pick by Vegas in 2019, has been at the forefront of the Sabres’ revival, setting a high standard through a work ethic so tenacious it can irritate teammates.
“His energy, I mean, it’s always up there near the top,” Ruff said following Monday’s practice. “Some of the energy, even on a down day, I think even annoys some of the players. Like, ‘Quit competing so hard. I don’t feel as good as you do.’
“But that energy is infectious. There’s not once you have to tell the guy to, ‘Come on, pick it up a little bit.’ It’s what drives teams. He’s a driver.”
The 6-foot, 188-pound Krebs has played up and down the lineup for years, both as a center, his natural position, and winger.
Wherever he’s shifted – “I’m comfortable everywhere,” he said – he believes he brings the same elements.
“What gives me confidence is it doesn’t matter who I’m playing with that, I know I can play a really good hockey game and play solid,” Krebs said. “In years past, maybe it’s, ‘Oh, you go down to the fourth line and you’re not going to be the same player.”
Krebs’ relentless style has helped him mesh alongside Thompson and Alex Tuch, who recently moved back to the No. 1 trio.
“When we switched the lines and (I) got that opportunity, I just wanted to bring some energy, bring some light each and every day,” Krebs said.
Top lines, Ruff said, “always have that workaholic on it.”
“There’s not many scoring lines that don’t have a guy like that,” he said. “There’s a guy that will drive it either with speed, intensity, and then your goal scorers pick up kind of that loose change that’s lying around from the shrapnel that this guy has created out on the ice.”
Krebs scored the tying goal late in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken while playing with center Josh Norris and Zach Benson.
After missing a prime chance earlier in the contest, Krebs, who tied his season highs by pumping three shots on goal and attempting six, beat goalie Philipp Grubauer from the right circle.
His 10th goal tied the career high he set last season. He has registered a career-high 35 points in 74 games this year, seven more than he compiled in 81 outings last year.
“You want to perform, and sometimes points is how you show how you perform,” Krebs said. “And I think this year, I’ve got some nice bounces and some nice plays.”
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Sabres winger Jordan Greenway on Monday practiced at left wing on the fourth line alongside center Sam Carrick and Beck Malenstyn, a sign he could return Tuesday from a 23-game absence.
Greenway has been using a new workout routine to combat mid-body pain he has experienced after undergoing two sports hernia surgeries.
Ruff said Greenway is an option to face the Islanders.
“He’s feeling a lot better,” he said. “He’s been involved in a lot of non-practice physicality drills that he’s looked really good, he’s skated really well. Feedback on him is he’s feeling great.”
Notes: Ruff said rookie forward Noah Ostlund, out the last two games with an upper-body injury, skated on his own Monday and is day to day. … Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had his own net during Monday’s practice, meaning he could make his second consecutive start. The Sabres have alternated Luukkonen and Alex Lyon over the last 18 games. … Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring, a healthy scratch the last nine games, practiced on the third pair alongside Logan Stanley during Monday’s session. Ruff said Kesselring is “definitely an option” to face the Islanders.