Tokarski makes career-high 45 saves in win over Penguins

PITTSBURGH - Dustin Tokarski is never one to hype himself up to the press. The goaltender prefers to deflect credit to teammates, thanking them for blocked shots and clear lines of vision.
Kyle Okposo did the talking for Tokarski on Saturday.
"He was our number one, two, and three star," Okposo said.

Tokarski kicked away a Jake Guentzel backhand shot and then lunged to stop Guentzel's put-back attempt with 19.6 seconds remaining for his career-high 45th save in the Sabres' 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

It was a fitting end to the night for Tokarski, who was a human highlight reel for the Sabres throughout the game and particularly during a 19-save third period. He stopped Guentzel on a power-play breakaway and absorbed a heavy hit in the process. His list of thefts against Jeff Carter alone included a post-to-post stop on a wrap-around attempt and multiple saves from point-blank range.

"I think that's just the nature of the job," Tokarski said. "It's an offensive game now and regardless of who you're playing, I think the goalie has to be good just like PK, PP, blocking shots, transitioning the puck. I'm a member of a unit out there and I've got to do my job just like everybody else."
Tokarski had to earn his job during training camp. He was, on the outside, the least discussed of a four-man goalie competition that included a pair of incoming veterans in Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell and a promising prospect in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Tokarski impressed coaches and teammates with the way he competed during his 13 games with Buffalo last season - his first NHL experience in four years. He built on that during the preseason, forcing the team to reward him with a job alongside Anderson.
He has assumed No. 1 duties with Anderson recovering from an upper-body injury. The win over Pittsburgh was his second in a row, following a 33-save victory over Edmonton on Friday.
"He has been really solid for us all the way from the first day of camp," Okposo said. "You can see it in practice. Every little puck, every second puck, third puck he's competing hard. It definitely shows in the games. We just want to continue to put a good effort in front of him, but we know we're a confident bunch when he's back there. "

The Sabres got the start they wanted on the road, maintaining a 0-0 tie through an evenly played first period and building a 2-0 lead on goals from Colin Miller and Kyle Okposo in the second.
As coach Don Granato said afterward, it was Tokarski's show from that point on.
The Penguins, looking to avoid a third straight loss, turned up the heat during the final 40 minutes. They outchanced the Sabres during a Buffalo power play early in the third period and rode that momentum from that point on, generating a 20-3 shot advantage in the process.
"I'm not discrediting [the Penguins] because they came hard, they worked hard, but we backed off some pressure that opened up a lot of opportunity for them that's actually easy to close and easy to look at, and then the correction has to follow," Granato said. "But it's easy to look at and see so we'll review that and hopefully we're better."

It was good enough on this night, thanks to Tokarski. The goaltender, after leading the Sabres to wins over Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby in the span of five days, was simply happy to do his part.
"We have a great group of guys, we have a good staff," Tokarski said. "Going to the rink every day is a lot of fun. I think when you have that kind of group, it just makes playing games and practices and being around the team just a lot of fun. Maybe that's what's translating to a little more success. I'm just enjoying it."

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Calgary Flames on Thursday. The Flamed ranked third in the Western Conference with 20 points entering their game in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.