It had been a long 48 hours for the Sabres. The defense corps, already missing Rasmus Ristolainen indefinitely, lost Jake McCabe for the season on Monday. It took another blow Tuesday with the loss of promising rookie Will Borgen, who was discovered to have a fracture in his right arm after blocking a shot against the Devils on Saturday.
On top of all that, the Sabres lost a contest to the Islanders on Monday that Krueger admitted may have been its most painful of the season. With the gap between the Sabres and the top four teams in the East Division growing wider, the internal stakes were high going into the game against the Devils.
"It was a playoff feel coming into this game today," coach Ralph Krueger said. "The meetings today, this morning, this afternoon, everybody was really edgy and focused. We're just happy the team responded to that kind of pressure we put on them today."
They found a way to remain persistent in spite of it all. Olofsson and the power play - Buffalo's biggest weapons all season - opened the door, but it was 5-on-5 play that kicked it down.
Asplund, who stepped in for an injured Tobias Rieder in large part for his ability on the penalty kill, batted in a Reinhart shot to extend the Sabres lead early in the third period. Cozens buried a backhand shot less than two minutes later, continuing to show promise on a line with Taylor Hall and Eric Staal.