Postgame Report | Anderson makes 40 saves in 6-0 win over Kings

Craig Anderson served as the last line of defense while the Sabres navigated the neutral zone-clogging structure of the Los Angeles Kings for 40 minutes inside KeyBank Center on Tuesday. The 41-year-old goaltender stayed calm in the crease and reminded his teammates to do the same.
After the final horn sounded on a 6-0 victory, Anderson credited his first shutout in nearly three years to the patience and poise of the 18 skaters in front of him.
"I think it's a great accomplishment as far as, obviously I get the individual credit for it, but it doesn't go without the team in front of you doing the job that they're supposed to do," Anderson said. "I think kudos to the guys for paying the price tonight and doing the little things right, paying attention to details. The shutout's just the result of us paying attention to the details."

Anderson finished with 40 saves in his first shutout since March 26, 2019 - a performance that, coincidentally, came against the Sabres when Anderson was a member of the Ottawa Senators.
The steady play in goal bought the Sabres enough time to find their offense during a six-goal third period. Tage Thompson scored twice (both on the power play) while Victor Olofsson, JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch (also on the power play) and Peyton Krebs added goals. Dylan Cozens had three assists.
The Sabres were outshot 16-3 during the first period as the Kings - known for their heavy, defensively sound game - stifled their speed through the neutral zone.
"We could come in here after having three shots on goal and be frustrated," Anderson said. "But the message wasn't being frustrated, it was, get back to our game, do what works, find the open space, put pucks behind them, whatever we need to do to generate some time of possession.
"I think we kind of took over the game as the longer the game went."
The Sabres had four power plays during the third period, including a 5-on-3 on which Thompson broke the 0-0 tie. They added to the lead with goals scored 13 seconds apart from Olofsson and Peterka.
The deficit was enough to force the Kings to open up the game, which only tilted the advantage further in the Sabres' favor. Tuch, Thompson, and Krebs all scored in the final six minutes.
The result was both a milestone for Anderson and a steppingstone for the Sabres.
"That's great to see from a young team," he said. "I think a lot of times younger teams that haven't played the right way for too long, if they get off their game, they start trying to do too much, be individual. And we didn't do that tonight, which is a huge steppingstone in our growth."

How it happened

PERIOD 1
The Kings generated 16-3 advantage in shots but were held off the board by Anderson, who turned away an attempt from Alex Iafallo in the slot and helped engineer a successful penalty kill late.
Alex Tuch had the best chance of the period for the Sabres, but Pheonix Copley made a pad save on his attempt from inside the crease.
"Anderson was great for us early and allowed us to get to the game that needed to be played," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "I say 'the game that needed to be played' versus 'get to our game,' because I thought L.A. did a great job, as Pittsburgh did in the last two games that we needed to learn from and adjust to.
"… You have teams that have been very focused on making sure they don't give us much and defending very hard against us and not giving us much. When that happens, you can't try to make a pretty play or fancy play, you have to have a little grind and put pucks behind and put pucks to the net to get second chances rather than create a glorious first chance and score on a first chance. It took us a while to get to that, but I thought Andy did what he needed to for us to get to that point."
PERIOD 2
The Sabres killed off an early penalty (with help from a post-to-post save from Anderson on Anze Kopitar) and began to generate possession as the period wore on, finishing with a 19-14 edge in shot attempts at 5-on-5.
The period concluded with a pair of penalties drawn by Zemgus Girgensons. The Kings killed off the first power play, which featured a one-timer from Tage Thompson that was turned away by Copley and another from Victor Olofsson that skimmed the post.
The latter power play extended into the third period, setting the stage for Thompson's goal.
PERIOD 3
The Sabres opened the period on the power play and, with 13 seconds remaining, Dylan Cozens drew a slashing call against Carl Grundstrom.
Buffalo cashed in on its brief 5-on-3 advantage, which saw Cozens win the opening faceoff back to Thompson and Thompson bury his shot from the high slot.

The Sabres extended their lead with goals scored 13 seconds apart from Olofsson and Peterka. Olofsson struck first, burying a quick shot fed from down low by Rasmus Asplund.

Peterka scored on the rush, sending a pass to Jack Quinn in tight and then burying a return feed.

Tuch scored his power-play goal with 5:29 remaining, collecting a loose puck in the high slot with his back turned toward the Los Angeles net before turning around and wristing a shot by Copley.

Thompson added another power-play goal with 3:33 to go. It's the second time this season he's tallied twice on the man advantage in the same game. The first came in his five-goal performance last week against Columbus.

Then with 1:27 remaining, Krebs wrapped up the scoring when he finished off a play highlighted by a great pass from Olofsson.

What we learned

1. Anderson's shutout was the 43rd of his career, moving him into a tie with Brian Elliott for 39th on the NHL's all-time list.
"The guy looks younger out there every day," Tuch said. "He played unbelievable. He was seeing everything, he was reading the play well. He was in full control out there. There was no panic in his game and it really gives the guys confidence."
2.Thompson moved into a tie with Dallas' Jason Robertson for second in the NHL with 23 goals this season. He is three behind league-leader Connor McDavid.
With two goals and an assist, Thompson has now recorded at least three points in a single game six times this season.
3.The Sabres have worn their goathead jerseys three times this season. The final scores in those games, all wins: 6-2, 6-3, 6-0.
4. Krebs' goal marks the second time in his career that he has recorded goals in consecutive games. He has now tallied a goal in three of his last four games.
5.The Sabres scored six goals in a period for the second time this year, the most by any team this season, according to NHL Stats. They also scored six goals during the first period of their win against Columbus on December 7.

Up next

The Sabres open a three-game road trip in Colorado on Thursday. Coverage on MSG begins at 8:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 9. The radio call can be found on WGR 550.