"As a group, we can't be satisfied with playing well against a good hockey team," Sabres center Jack Eichel said. "Those are games where you need to find a way to get a goal, come up big. Someone's got to step up there. Myself, I got to step up and get something there."
Gunnarsson scored with 5:41 remaining to put the Blues ahead 1-0. He beat Lehner with a shot from near the blue line that went through a crowd of players and off the crossbar.
"All credit to [Alexander Steen]," Gunnarsson said. "I thought he was going to get the puck, then I saw he kind of stopped up the winger trying to get out and it was just easier to step into. So, he made it easy for me."
Gunnarsson returned to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch the previous three games.
"He played a great game," Yeo said. "It was not a hard decision (to put him in), like I said before that we were looking for an opportunity. We needed to get him in, he deserved to get back in, and I'm very happy for him. Obviously, getting the goal was big, but I thought he played an outstanding game all-around."
St. Louis killed a Buffalo power play after Gunnarsson was called for interference against Eichel with 2:26 remaining.
"I think my heartbeat was higher than it was during the rest of the game," Gunnarsson said. "They had a couple of good chances too, so thank god for [Hutton] and the [penalty kill] blocking shots and doing a great job. It's the worst feeling in the world sitting in the box when we're up by one."
