Sabres seek to regroup during break following loss to Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -Alex Tuch will remember his return to Las Vegas. He saluted the crowd inside T-Mobile Arena following an emotional tribute video and scored against his former team.
His message to teammates entering the All-Star break, however, is to allow the details of what happened in a 5-2 loss in Vegas to stay there for the time being.
"Honestly, going into the break I hope guys don't even think about hockey," Tuch said. "It's a really good time to reset. We've got a really young group and there's a lot of guys that haven't even been through this bye week, whatever you want to call it.
"… You can reminisce over this game for about 10 minutes and then guys, especially the younger guys should go relax and enjoy themselves."

The Sabres have seven days between now and their next game, a meeting with the Blue Jackets on Feb. 10. Their loss to the Golden Knights completed a stretch of three games in four days out west, a trip that was complicated by injuries and a series of false positive tests for COVID-19.
The Sabres overcame a depleted lineup to win in Arizona on Saturday and played a tight game against the Western Conference's top team in Colorado on Sunday. They fell behind early to Vegas, allowing Rielly Smith to open the scoring on an odd-man rush during the opening minute.
Vegas continued to capitalize on its chances, building a 4-0 lead by the time five minutes had passed in the second period. Brett Howden scored off a turnover in the Buffalo zone. Jonathan Marchessault scored a power-play goal and Keegan Kolesar added one shorthanded.
"I think it was indicative of just missing it tonight mentally," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Just mentally we're not as sharp and it manifests physically. Again, it just took us too long to snap into it in each period and throughout the game. We could never consistently do what we do when we're rolling. Just parts. Flashes here and flashes there. Even when we generated chances, we didn't convert."

The Sabres have 37 games remaining on the other end of the All-Star break. The mandate from Granato will be the same as it has been this season: incremental improvement through aggressive play, with an eye toward building a sustainable identity.
The loss to the Golden Knights - a deep, talented team that has made the playoffs in each of its four seasons - will be another lesson to that end. But first, the Sabres will seek to regroup.
"It is a good learning experience for the entire team and the organization," Tuch said. "That's one of the best teams in the league. They're Stanley Cup contenders. They have been for years.
"You know what, we have to learn from that experience and we have to try and get to that level someday, hopefully sooner rather than later. But right now we're in a developmental stage so we're gonna come in, have a nice little break, and go back to work."

Returning to Vegas

Granato started Tuch on a makeshift line with Cody Eakin and Peyton Krebs, all of whom were returning to Vegas for the first time as visiting players. Krebs and Tuch joined the Sabres in the trade that sent Jack Eichel to the Golden Knights in November. Eakin spent parts of three seasons in Vegas before a trade to Winnipeg in 2019-20.
The three were recognized together during a video tribute that played inside T-Mobile Arena to thunderous applause. The crowd cheered again when Tuch scored Buffalo's first goal, a shot from the right faceoff circle during the second period.

"It was very nice that they did that," Tuch said. "Meant a lot. My girlfriend's in town, dad's in town, they came to the game and stuff. I'm sure they liked that, they really enjoyed that. So did I and so did the other guys. Vegas gave me a lot and this is just another thing on the list, so very grateful and happy."

Hayden nets 1st goal

John Hayden deflected a Tage Thompson shot during the third period for his first goal with the Sabres. The assist was Thompson's team-high 30th point of the season.

Up next

Rasmus Dahlin will remain in Vegas to represent the Sabres during All-Star Weekend. All-Star Skills begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. The All-Star Game is Saturday at 3 p.m. on ABC.
The Sabres return from the break with a home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, Feb. 10. Tickets are available here.