Ullmark, Skinner lead Sabres into break with shutout win over Ducks

Jeff Skinner glided behind the net and lifted his arms in celebratory fashion, paying no attention to the soft shove issued from behind by Anaheim Ducks forward Adam Henrique.
Skinner was a thorn in Anaheim's side all night on Saturday, drawing a pair of penalties and punctuating the performance with his 26th goal of the season in a 3-0 Sabres win. Linus Ullmark made 40 saves for his second shutout of the season, while Rasmus Dahlin and Conor Sheary also added goals for Buffalo.
The win snaps a two-game losing skid for the Sabres and, on a day when Boston and Montreal both secured victories, gives them a hold on their position in third place in the Atlantic Division as they enter the Christmas break.

"I'm just happy we ended on a win going into the break," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "… We did end it the right way before Christmas break and the guys should be able to relax and regain some energy."

The Sabres seemed to pick up right where they left off in their 2-1 loss in Washington on Friday, a game in which they outshot the Capitals 17-8 in the third period but were stifled by goaltender Braden Holtby. They tallied 15 shots in each of the first two periods and took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Dahlin with 3:09 remaining in the first.
The goal, a short-side marker from the right circle made possible by a Sam Reinhart screen, was Dahlin's fourth of the season but his first on home ice. The fact that his family was in town for the holidays only made the moment sweeter.

"I've been waiting for it," the rookie said. "It was a great feeling. I've never scored in front of these kinds of fans. It was good that the first one was in a win."
As difficult as it was to solve Holtby in Washington, the Ducks presented a similar challenge in netminder John Gibson, who entered the game ranked fourth in the NHL in save percentage and fifth in wins. Gibson kept the Sabres' lead to one until the third, setting up for the Ducks - owners of the third-most comeback wins in the NHL this season (12) - to make their push.
The Ducks began the third on the power play, which they used to set the tone for a period in which they outshot they outshot the Sabres, 15-3. Efforts from Skinner and Ullmark helped to secure the win along with a strong pair of penalty kills.
"I think tonight was a total team effort," Sheary said. "I think Linus stood on his head in the third and kept us with the lead. This one definitely feels good."

Despite the high volume of shots he faced, Ullmark credited his teammates for limiting grade-A opportunities against.
"They had shots on net but there were no breakaways or 2-on-1s," he said. "Those are the things that they're really good at. They're a 5-on-5 team. We minimized all their chances."
Ullmark's steady performance in net bought time for Skinner to extend the Sabres' lead with 8:48 remaining. Sam Reinhart squeezed a pass through two defenders to hit Skinner in stride as he drove to the net, leaving Buffalo's leading goal scorer to do what he does best.

"Reino makes a great play on the wall there, I think, sort of threading it through two guys," Skinner said. "I was honestly going to look five-hole and then I bobbled it for a sec. Then I just pulled it to my backhand and at that point I just tried to get it on net, because it's a pretty tight angle. Fortunately, it found a way in there."
Henrique's shove during Skinner's celebration was a subtle expression of frustration that seemed to mount throughout the game. Skinner drew the ire of Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Nick Ritchie in particular, leading to a cross-checking call against Ritchie in the first period.
Later, in the second period, Skinner drew an interference call during a footrace with Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano.
"It's an emotional game," he said. "Some games that's just the way it goes. A little bit of a feisty game, I guess, at the end of some of the periods but I thought we did a good job sticking together."
Housley smirked when asked about the left winger afterward.
"Well, he's a slippery guy," he said. "He just finds ways to hang onto pucks in traffic areas. That was a really important goal because they were trying to make a push there and we found a way. I believe we may have only gotten three shots [in the third], but we made them count."

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Dahlin's goal gives him 20 points (4+16) in 37 games, the 10th-highest total ever recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 19th birthday. That gives him until April 13 to catch his coach, who holds the record with 57.

According to NHL Public Relations, only three 18-year-old defensemen in NHL history have reached the 20-point mark quicker: Housley (28 games played in 1982-83), Ray Bourque (30 in 1979-80) and Aaron Ekblad (34 in 2014-15).

Up next

The Sabres return from the holiday break in St. Louis on Dec. 27. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 7:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night pregame show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 8.
The team returns home on Saturday, Dec. 29 for their third meeting of the season with the rival Boston Bruins. Tickets are still available.