Confident McCabe seeing strong play pay off on both ends of the ice

Confidence, they say, is key and for Jake McCabe, that's what he's crediting for his success 10 games into the 2018-19 season.
McCabe leads Sabres defensemen in scoring with five points (1+4) and is coming off a two-assist performance in last night's win over Montreal, a game in which McCabe was making strong plays in all three zones.

Early in the first period, the team found itself down a goal and on the penalty kill. Jake McCabe lined up with Zach Bogosian, Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons to start the kill.
On that shorthanded shift, McCabe blocked two key shots and the Sabres were able to hold off the Canadiens' attack.
Then, just 3:54 into the second period, he hit a crossbar and later drew a penalty which led to Jason Pominville's second goal of the game.
In the third, he cycled down low to the left halfwall, made eye contact with Conor Sheary, and quickly moved Sheary's cross-ice saucer pass to Sam Reinhart, who knocked it in to tie the game midway through the third.

And with 4:30 remaining in the third, he found himself on a partial breakaway with a chance to put his club ahead after Sheary forced a neutral zone turnover to spring McCabe with two Habs hot on his tail.
"We want to add that second wave of attack from the back end, when the proper time is, and our forwards are actually looking for us late as well," McCabe said after Friday's practice at Harborcenter. "It's just something that's going to keep developing and our offensive game is still going to develop throughout the year. It's still a young year and I think you're going to see even more production from the back end."
The Sabres ended up winning 4-3 thanks to a power-play goal by Kyle Okposo with 1:01 left in regulation.
McCabe's two assists marked his first multi-point effort since Dec. 15, 2017, when he had a goal and two helpers. He finished Thursday's game with a 73.53 Cosri For percentage, third-best on the team last night, as he was on the ice for 25 shot attempts for and only nine against.
"I just love the way he attacked the game last night," coach Phil Housley said. "He was driven and he was jumping into the play. He was sealing the wall in the offensive zone and he's getting his shots through.
"He had some really good looks, especially in the second period off the crossbar. Even defensively, he's putting his body in front of pucks and he's doing it at both ends of the ice."
He's also been on the ice for eight Sabres goals this season, second only to Pominville.
He now has five points (1+4) in his last five games, marking the best five-game stretch of his career.

"I'm still a young player in this league, I'd like to think, even though I'm, I guess, 25 now. With saying that, with the team we have now and the depth we have now, everyone's pushing each other to be better," he said. "We're playing the right way, we're getting pucks to the net and you're looking at the back end, we're getting rewarded because of it."
He's been paired with Rasmus Ristolainen for the past week after Housley shook up the line combinations and defensive partnerships in the wake of back-to-back losses on the road. Since then, the team has rattled off three wins in a row and are going for a fourth on Saturday in Columbus.
While McCabe is currently leading the D corps in points, Ristolainen (1+3), Rasmus Dahlin (1+3), Marco Scandella (1+1), Zach Bogosian (1+1) and Nathan Beaulieu (1+0) are right behind. Casey Nelson is still looking for his first point, but has certainly generated chances.
"I think all four lines, all six D and whatever goalie is playing, I think that we've meshed well as a group. There's a ton of skill up front and on the back end," Bogosian said. "We've played some good games, some good chemistry and we've just got to keep that going."
McCabe has experience playing with Ristolainen over his five-plus seasons with the organization and noted that skating with a player like Ristolainen, who is known for being a constant talker, helps to widen his range of vision on the ice.
"It really allows you to see the ice better when someone's in your ear and gives you that reassurance that he's there or he's telling you what play to make next," McCabe said. "It makes everyone's job a lot easier."

Changing on the fly

Okposo hadn't been practicing with the top power-play unit heading into last night's contest, but that didn't stop Housley from making a late substitution with the game on the line.

As the Sabres went on the man advantage with 1:19 left in the third, Housley put Okposo on the right point with the first unit consisting of Pominville, Dahlin, Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner.
The move paid off. Eighteen seconds after Skinner won the faceoff at the left dot, Okposo's point shot went through Pominville's screen, off the post and in past Antti Niemi to give the Sabres the lead.
"It was a decision that was made because we weren't getting pucks to the net on that side of the ice. Kyle has a knack for finding that open lane," Housley said. "I think it's all Jason Pominville on that goal. He's standing right over the goalie; [Niemi] never saw it. He did make a really good shot and it was just one of those quick decisions we made."

Friday's practice

Eichel, Reinhart and Sheary were given maintenance days and did not skate Friday. Housley expects all three to be in the lineup Saturday against Columbus. The GMC Game Night pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. on MSG with faceoff set for just after 7 on MSG and WGR 550.
Here's how the lines looked in practice without those three players:
53 Jeff Skinner - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville
72 Tage Thompson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 21 Kyle Okposo
10 Patrick Berglund - 22 Johan Larsson - 28 Zemgus Girgensons
81 Remi Elie - 17 Vladimir Sobotka - 82 Nathan Beaulieu\
19 Jake McCabe - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
6 Marco Scandella - 4 Zach Bogosian
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 8 Casey Nelson
40 Carter Hutton
35 Linus Ullmark
\Defenseman working as extra forward