GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Sabres 2

BUFFALO, NY - It wasn't quite a homecoming for captain Connor McDavid, but he deemed it close enough.
What the captain decides, he decides.
"He's the best player in the world and he's pushing his own boundaries, personal bests and those categories," Zach Hyman said. "So yeah, he's driving the bus. He's been driving the bus for a long time and continues to push himself to get better."
McDavid recorded a pair of goals in front of a heavy Oilers contingent at KeyBank Center to help lead the Edmonton Oilers to an important 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres as he reached a new career high of 124 points in only 65 games with a two-tally effort on Monday night.
"I thought it was big. Obviously, it's a huge two points," Skinner said. "Every one really matters now and it's kind of getting to that last stretch. So it was big that we were able to get two points here."
Derek Ryan netted his 11th goal of the season as part of an energetic performance from the fourth line with Devin Shore and Klim Kostin that was rewarded at the end of a dominant shift in the Sabres end late in the second period.
Shore recorded an assist and now has helpers in back-to-back games. Stuart Skinner was exceptional once again, stopping 36-of-38 shots and making two crucial glove saves in the final five minutes to help stem the tide from a late push from the Sabres, who played desperate and competitive hockey and challenged the Oilers for the full 60 minutes.
"Down the stretch, that team is desperate and trying to gain points," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "They played a heck of a game. Our team played hard and played a heck of a game, and in the end, I'm glad we're walking out of this building with two points."
The Oilers continue their four-game road trip against the league-leading Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday evening.

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FIRST BLOOD

For those who made the 159-kilometre drive across the border to Buffalo from Toronto to see McDavid close to home, their choice was quickly justified.
After the captain fed Ryan McLeod out front for an open chance seven minutes into the game, netminder Craig Anderson parried the shot off the backboards, but not out of danger. Instead, the League's leading scorer by a 26-point margin coming into Monday was in the right spot to pick up the loose puck and wrap it around into the Buffalo net beyond a sliding Anderson for a 1-0 lead for Edmonton.
McDavid capped it all off with a huge fist-throw-and-knee-drop celebration in the right corner in front of a partisan Oilers contingent that made KeyBank Center sound like Rogers Place with how many blue, orange and white sweaters were on their feet in celebration.
Sabres forward Jeff Skinner scored 2:24 later on the power play to round out the scoring in a first period that saw both sides combine for 35 shots -- 20 of those off the sticks of Oilers skaters.

BRING THE ENERGY

The trio of Ryan, Shore and Kostin brought the energy all evening and hemmed the Sabres into their own zone late in the second period for what seemed like minutes before the unit got its just rewards with the go-ahead goal.
The Sabres scrambled at the end of a long shift in the defensive end to stop the puck from landing on the stick of Shore, who tried to filter it through on the first attempt to Ryan in between the hashmarks. After it was blocked, Shore tried again, this time succeeding to find the 36-year-old wide open to wrist his 11th of the season under the glove of the veteran Anderson with 1:15 remaining in the second period.

The assist was Shore's second point in three games since the Trade Deadline, when he graciously gave Mattias Ekholm the number 14 before donning the number 19.
We think it looks pretty good on you, Shoresy.

PLAY OF THE GAME

McDavid was motivated for this one. You could see it in the captain's determination.
Ekholm chipped the puck out of the Oilers end into the neutral zone, where Warren Foegele lifted the stick of skilled Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin before entering the offensive end and kicking a pass to the captain coming through the middle.
"(Ekholm) made a heck of a play in order to advance the puck, and then what I saw Warren Foegele do I was beyond impressed with," Woodcroft said. "There's a lot of good plays that led to that finish, and the finish was all-world."
Avoiding the reaching stick of defenceman Jacon Bryson, McDavid reached around the pressure and fired his 54th goal of the campaign and second of the night five-hole on Anderson after the Sabres levelled the score early in the final frame through Dylan Cozens.

"Who's more likely to make a play than him, right?" Hyman said. He's just a big-time player."
The generational talent is currently on pace to become the NHL's first 150-point scorer in over 30 years.
"I think being tied, especially in the third period, we definitely feel good as a team because we got some unbelievable players," Skinner said. "I think he does what he does best, and sometimes you don't always expect it, but at the same time when he does do his thing, you're very thankful, especially late when they score and then we score back. That kills their momentum, especially being at home.
"That's what the game's about -- momentum shifts -- and Connor does a great job being able to help us out. Same with everybody on our team."

SAVE OF THE GAME

'Stuuuuuuuuu!' was saving his best for last.
The 24-year-old was phenomenal all game, but delivered two crucial glove saves in the final five minutes to keep the Oilers ahead by a goal.
Forward Casey Middelstadt tried to beat Skinner glove side, but a quick reaction save pushed it out of danger with the tip of his leather trapper. But just 45 seconds later, the Edmonton native was back at it with the glove to come up with a monstrous grab, denying Ilya Lybushkin with a jaw-dropping stop that drew exhaustive sighs from the KeyBank Center crowd for a goalie that made 36 saves on the night.

"You try to always just feel it. Sometimes you don't, sometimes you do," Skinner said. "No matter what, you've still got a job to do. I think being able to get a couple of saves right off the bat kind of made me feel a little bit better going into the game and were able to just play really well and get our chances as well, and a big credit to the guys in front of me."
The pair of stops proved vital as Edmonton saw out the final minutes and late pressure from the Sabres with their net empty.

PARTING WORDS

Hyman on the play of Skinner in between the pipes tonight for Edmonton:
"I think any team that goes on and wins the Stanley Cup, as a goalie, that's making saves. And Stu played great tonight and was awesome. So it's a huge part of our team."
Skinner on mcDavid's incredible new career high of 124 points:
"Only 124? I've always said we really appreciate him and what he does for us on the ice offensively and also defensively. He's been making some huge blocks for me lately and been taking the guys in front of the net and doing really well boxing out. So he's getting both ends and also off the ice as a leader as well. So we all really appreciate him for everything that he does."
Skinner on his growth and progression in his first full NHL season:
"Absolutely. I think being able to learn from a lot of the mistakes that I've been able to make. and also from the good things that I've been able to do on and off the ice. So being able to grow as a teammate, as a player, and just kind of learning how the NHL kind of works and being able to try your best to do well, it's been a massive learning curve and I've been having a lot of fun with it."

Coach Woodcroft with a message before his post-game availability:
"Before I start, I want to just share something. I just want to send condolences from the Edmonton Oilers players and coaches, our organization as a whole and the city of Edmonton to the family of firefighter Jason Arnold here in Buffalo, who perished a few days ago. It's never good to see a young person perish in that manner, but he did it bravely. I have a firefighter in my family and know how valued they are to the community, so I just wanted to pass along condolences."
Coach Woodcroft on Edmonton's victory:
"I thought it was a good hockey game. You know, that's a first of all, I'd compliment Buffalo on a game well played. I think they have the makings of a really good hockey team. A lot of skill. They play with pace. They did a lot of good things tonight. I thought it was a very competitive hockey game -- the type of game we want to play. In the end, we gave up two goals against and I think if you look at the way we played last week when we gave up three or less, we had a really good chance to win the game. When we got into a track meet, it didn't go our way."