Postgame Report | Sabres return to winning ways against Anaheim

ANAHEIM -Don Granato sensed his team had gotten its groove back as the Sabres dominated their way through the opening 20 minutes against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, churning out shift after shift in the offensive zone and building a two-goal lead in the process.
His belief was only reinforced when the Sabres fell behind in the second period following a string of three Ducks goals. Peyton Krebs responded with the tying goal just 35 seconds later, then set up the winner from Casey Mittelstadt before the end of the period. The Sabres went on to win, 7-3.
"That kind of exemplified how dialed in our guys were and how determined they were," Granato said. "… They were pissed off and wanted to get back on the ice immediately to try and get it back. It's a nice feeling."

The victory snapped an 0-3-1 stretch for the Sabres, who had dropped consecutive games in regulation since returning from a nine-day break.
Buffalo received goals from seven different players: Krebs, Mittelstadt, Tyson Jost, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Zemgus Girgensons, and Dylan Cozens. Fourteen different Sabres registered a point.
Seven players had multi-point games. Jost, Krebs, Cozens, Mittelstadt, and Tuch each contributed a goal and an assist. Jack Quinn and Rasmus Dahlin had two assists each.
Eric Comrie made 19 saves to win his second straight start.
"I'm sure everyone would say it, we kind of needed that one," Mittelstadt said. "It's nice. I think a lot of guys had goals and assists. Coming off the break, it's nice to get a win and get things going here. Hopefully we can get a little hot."
Here's the breakdown from a victory in Anaheim.

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How it happened

FIRST PERIOD
The Sabres' dominance in the opening 20 minutes showed in their lopsided statistical advantages: 19-3 in shots, 31-8 in shot attempts, and 10-1 in high-danger attempts (according to Natural Stat Trick).
The Ducks did not register their first shot of the period until there was 4:40 remaining, and it was a clearing attempt by Nathan Beaulieu that traveled the length of the ice with the Sabres on the power play.
Jost buried a rebound from along the goal line to put the Sabres on the board 6:08 into the contest. Thompson doubled the lead with a one-timer on the power play at 15:58.

The Sabres' 19 shots tied their highest mark in a single period this season, matching their first-period total against the Islanders on Ryan Miller Night.
"I just thought we came out skating," Mittelstadt said. "The message was pretty simple from Donny today. Not a lot of video or anything, just, 'Let's go play with pace and let's be ourselves.' I thought the first period was from that. I thought we played with pace. We were on pucks fast, throwing pucks to the net and getting them back."
SECOND PERIOD
Anaheim scored three goals in a span of 6:31 to take a 3-2 lead. Trevor Zegras set up the first goal for Kevin Shattenkirk on the rush. Cam Fowler sent a shot through traffic for the tying goal and then buried a rebound from the side of the net to put the Ducks ahead.
"We were calm on the bench," Krebs said. "We know what we had to do. Just keep a smile on your face and keep plugging away."
The Sabres' answer was fueled by Krebs, who buried a one-timer from the slot to tie the score and then delivered the entry pass to set up Mittelstadt's go-ahead goal with 1:57 left on the clock. Mittelstadt faked the intent to pass with his eyes before picking the near-side corner from the right circle.

The Sabres outshot the Ducks 12-9 in the period.
THIRD PERIOD
Tuch emerged from the penalty box following a successful kill for the Sabres and scored his 25th goal of the season on a shot from the slot.

The Sabres rolled from there. Girgensons scored on a feed from Quinn on the rush with 8:14 remaining. Cozens potted his 19th goal when he chipped in a backhand with 1:07 to go.
"It felt like we were back in a rhythm as far as five guys playing together one shift to the next shift to the next shift," Granato said. "I know they were very excited about that feeling.

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What we learned

1. The Sabres pulled within four points of Washington for the second Wild Card berth with three games in hand. The Capitals host the Panthers - who sit two points ahead of the Sabres but have played four more games - on Thursday.
2.The Sabres took the ice with new-look forward lines, which included Krebs centering Mittelstadt and Quinn.
"They're making plays all over the ice," Krebs said when asked about his linemates. "You know when you give them the puck, they're going to make some plays. I just tried to make sure I was hard defensively. Get them the puck and they did their thing."

3.Comrie - who grew up in Southern California after his family moved from his hometown Edmonton - made his first start since January 26, a 19-save victory in Winnipeg. His impact on the Sabres has still been felt in the meantime.
"Coms is great, Mittelstadt said. "He's such a great guy. I think he doesn't get enough credit. He doesn't play too much right now, but every day he comes to the rink with such a good attitude< pumping up all the guys. He just brings an energy to the room that is unmatched."
4. Thompson's 36th goal of the season broke a tie with New Jersey's Jack Hughes, giving him sole possession of third place on the NHL leaderboard.
5..With a goal and an assist, Mittelstadt extended his point streak to three games. He has two goals and three assists in that span.
6. Dahlin's two assists upped his point total to 58, tied for the most by a defenseman in Sabres history through the first 60 games of a season (Phil Housley in 1983-84).

Up next

The road trip concludes Saturday in San Jose. Coverage on MSG begins at 10 p.m. The puck drops at 10:30 on MSG and WGR 550.