Baptiste hopes two-way game can translate to NHL

Look at the numbers alone, and one might think Nicholas Baptiste has taken a step back in his second pro season. The 22-year-old forward has scored seven goals and 10 assists in 34 games for Rochester, not quite on pace to match his 59-game total of 41 points (25+16) he set as a rookie last season.
In the big picture though, Baptiste believes he's taken a step forward. He's maintained his status as a top-line presence in Rochester, but has developed in other areas - chiefly on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone - to show he can be trusted at the NHL level.
It appears that the organization agrees. With the team in need of an extra body up front, Baptiste was recalled on Friday morning.

"I don't think it's changing my role," he said. "I think it's finding a way to play at this level, and if you're not scoring, being able to provide physical play, speed and helping in my D-zone. So, I think I [didn't] change my game, but developed my game."

Baptiste has been recalled to Buffalo once prior this season, a short stint in November that saw him held scoreless in four games. Last season, he scored three goals and an assist in 14 games with the Sabres. Upon returning to Rochester, he was instructed to focus less on scoring and more on details.
Employing that mindset can be tough for a young player, but Phil Housley said that Baptiste instead embraced the challenge of learning what it will take to become an everyday NHL player.
"I just think he's doing the things that they're telling him to do," Housley said. "He's tenacious on the forecheck. He's really strong down low. He's getting to the net more. He's creating things offensively. That's why he's up here."

With Kyle Okposo absent from practice on Friday for a maintenance day, Baptiste took his place on a line with Benoit Pouliot and Jack Eichel. Housley said there has not yet been a decision as to whether he'll play against Dallas on Saturday or on the team's upcoming road trip in Western Canada.
Regardless of where and when he plays, Baptiste said his approach will remain the same: play simple, be hard on pucks and focus on his two-way game. The rest will take care of itself.
"It's the National Hockey League, though, right? You can't come up to come up here and just score a bunch of goals all of a sudden," Baptiste said. "I've got to find a way to stay in the lineup and do those things to move myself up the depth chart and eventually be a guy who's here for the long term."

At the net front

One area that Housley said Baptiste has improved is his presence in front of the net. As a team, the Sabres put forth one of their best efforts of the season in that regard against the New York Rangers on Thursday.
The Sabres received two goals from defensemen - scored by Justin Falk and Rasmus Ristolainen - as a product of net-front traffic. Josh Gorges also rung the post twice with Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist screened and Sam Reinhart nearly scored on a rebound late in the third period.

"We did a really good job in front of Lundqvist," Housley said. "We've got to continue to do that. But our D are trying to find lanes now, and they're doing it quicker which doesn't allow the other team to get in the shot lane. I really liked that part of our game last night."

Friday's practice

Nathan Beaulieu (illness) and Jacob Josefson (lower body) remained absent from practice, but Housley said that both players skated on their own and are making progress. Here's how the lineup looked in their absence:
67 Benoit Pouliot - 15 Jack Eichel - 13 Nicholas Baptiste
9 Evander Kane - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 29 Jason Pominville
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 23 Sam Reinhart
20 Scott Wilson - 22 Johan Larsson - 17 Jordan Nolan
Defense: 4 Josh Gorges, 6 Marco Scandella, 8 Casey Nelson, 19 Jake McCabe, 41 Justin Falk, 55 Rasmus Ristolainen, 93 Victor Antipin
40 Robin Lehner
31 Chad Johnson