Sabres ready for Winter Classic close-up

NEWARK, N.J. --The Buffalo Sabres are changing, for the better, just in time for them to skate onto the NHL's biggest regular-season stage and showcase what they've got in front of 42,000 fans and a national television audience.
The improving Sabres face the New York Rangers in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citi Field on Monday (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).

"We're starting to believe in ourselves," Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo told NHL.com after practice at Prudential Center on Saturday. "We're starting to play to win."
The Sabres are 4-3-4 since Dec. 5. That's hardly a record to celebrate. In fact, a 4-3-4 stretch would lead most teams into worrying about inconsistency and figuring out how to find their game again.
It's different for Buffalo, which was 6-17-4 in its first 27 games, not to mention last or second-to-last in the Eastern Conference in each of the past four seasons.
So you can understand why the Sabres feel better about their game now, compared to when they were losing 11 of 12 games (1-9-2) from Nov. 10-Dec. 2.
"We went through a really tough stretch for about a month and a half or so when we were playing the game just to play," Okposo said. "We were trying not to make a mistake and therefore we were playing on our heels. Now, we know the way we have to play and we're aggressively trying to do the things to help us win the game within our system. Everybody has bought in. We're stepping in the right direction."

There's been plenty of evidence to support that in the Sabres' past two games.
They came out of the holiday break with one of their best efforts of the season against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Wednesday. They were aggressive, disciplined and had a shot-first mentality. They came back from being a goal down and took a 2-1 lead on Okposo's goal at 11:33 of the third period. They outshot the Islanders 37-34, including 14-7 in the third period.
But they couldn't close it out.
Islanders forward Josh Bailey scored with 1:09 left in regulation and center Mathew Barzal scored 1:08 into overtime to give New York a 3-2 win.
"I thought we outplayed them and they make a couple plays at the end of the game and it's tough," center Jack Eichel said. "It seems like that's been the story for us."
They changed the story against the New Jersey Devils on Friday, when they overcame a mostly sluggish second period, bounced back from being two goals down and won 4-3 in overtime.
Eichel scored at 18:05 of the second period to bring Buffalo within one, then tied the game with a power-play goal at 11:04 of the third. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored his first goal of the season 2:37 into overtime.
The Sabres had 14 shots through two periods, including three in the second. They responded with 12 shots in the third and three more in overtime.

It was their second win in 21 games when trailing after two periods (2-17-2). It was their second win in 10 games that have extended into overtime (2-8).
"We never quit in that game," Okposo said. "We got down 3-1 and could have just mailed it in, but we didn't. [Eichel] got a big goal at the end of the second and then a PP goal late. We never quit on that game. That's a good hockey team [the Devils], and that was a good win for us."
Another positive sign? Nobody in the room overstated the importance of defeating the Devils or celebrated as if they won something bigger. They were down 3-1. They were outshot 25-14 through two periods. Realistically, it wasn't a great performance or a pretty win.
"But it goes to show you that if you stay the course and make sure you do the right things, good things are going to happen," defenseman Zach Bogosian said.
One of those good things is the play of goaltender Robin Lehner, who's 4-2-3 with a .935 save percentage in his past 11 games.
The Sabres are about to experience something great starting Sunday, when they practice at Citi Field. The opportunity to be a part of the NHL Winter Classic is not lost on them.
"This is a highlight of a lot of our careers," Bogosian said. "This is huge."
Eichel talked about being on the big stage.

"The Winter Classic is the marquee game of the year," he said. "Everyone is watching."
And the Sabres feel they finally have something good to showcase to the hockey world, a big shift from where they were less than a month ago.
"It's gone too long the other way," Okposo said, "and we had to put our foot down at some point and say, 'Enough is enough.' "