'I felt like a kid again' | Anderson earns victory in return from injury

GLENDALE, Ariz. -Craig Anderson felt his excitement mount as he approached his first game in 88 days, building subtly in warmups and reaching a crescendo during the national anthem.
Anderson joked that he felt every bit of 40 years old after making 27 saves in a 3-1 victory for the Sabres over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. He also remembered why he keeps playing.
"I felt like a kid again," he said. "I reminded myself of why I put in the work the last couple months. … You're playing a kid's game. If it's not fun, it's not time to be playing anymore. I got out there and reiterated to myself that it is still fun to compete and to battle."

The victory marked an upbeat conclusion to what had been a rollercoaster day for the Sabres, which began with multiple players and staff members testing positive for COVID-19 as the team took the ice for its morning skate.
Some were cleared upon further testing. Three players - forwards Rasmus Asplund and Victor Olofsson along with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin - were placed into protocol along with assistant coach Matt Ellis and four other staff members prior to puck drop.
The Sabres dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the game, only to lose defenseman Will Butcher to a lower-body injury less than three minutes in. Tage Thompson left with an injury but returned and played through soreness, according to coach Don Granato.
"We've all said it so many times, it's chaotic times because of [COVID]," Granato said. "So, today was at a new level."
It happened to be the perfect time to add Anderson, whose calm demeanor was apparent from the moment he stopped Christian Fischer on a point-blank attempt during the first period.
"I thought Craig was amazing, how simple he makes the game look in the net," Granato said. "He reads shooters so well. You can see why he's been a great goaltender in the league for a long time. He made things look really simple."

Anderson carried a shutout into the third period. He was completely screened on the one attempt that beat him, a shot from the point by defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere with 8:30 remaining.
When Henri Jokiharju broke up an attempted pass in front the Buffalo net and sent the puck flying high into the air, Anderson calmly reached to pull it down, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him.
"He's been around a long time, he knows how to do it," fellow veteran Kyle Okposo, who also returned from injury, said. "I think he's probably one of the best play-readers in the league.
"A lot of times he looks like he's a bit unorthodox out there, because he is, but just because he's reading the plays so well, he just kind of knows what's going to happen. That's how he plays, and we feel confident with him back there and happy to see him get back and play well."
Anderson played in four regular-season games with Washington last season after a 10-year run in Ottawa. His reasoning for signing a one-year deal with the Sabres during the summer was twofold: to serve as a mentor on a young team and prove he can still compete for the net.
He was successful to both ends before his injury. He posted a .921 save percentage while starting six of Buffalo's first nine games. Granato lauded him for his leadership, describing the goalie as an extra coach of sorts during trips to the bench between whistles.
That start was interrupted when Anderson collided with Sharks forward Tomas Hertl on Nov. 2. He spent nearly three months working his way back.
It was all worth it Saturday.
"It was good to get through that and battle through it and to get the win was huge," he said. "Our guys really did a great job."

Okposo scores in return

Okposo added another veteran presence after missing three games with an upper-body injury. He drew a hooking penalty during the first period and opened the scoring with a shot from the right faceoff circle on the ensuing power play.

"We talked a lot at the start of the year about the impact of Kyle Okposo and the impact of Craig Anderson, and they were extremely impactful tonight," Granato said.
Okposo described the emotions of the day, which began with excitement for his return before spiraling into uncertainty.
"Coming back, excited to play and then it's just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, one thing after the other," he said. "Then all of a sudden you just kind of pass the time along and you just try to get through the day until 7 o'clock and hopefully you don't have any more surprises. It's really what the day was.
"You just try to focus on coming together as a team for 60 minutes and get a win, and we did."

Krebs, Tuch connect

Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch each tallied a goal and an assist. Krebs buried a 2-on-1 feed from Casey Mittelstadt during the first period, extending Buffalo's lead to 2-0. Tuch earned the secondary helper.

The duo connected again for a highlight-reel goal in the second period. Tuch carried the puck into the offensive zone and dropped it back to Krebs, who delivered a return feed through traffic to Tuch at the back of the net. Tuch tapped it in for his 12 point in 11 games with the Sabres.

"That's high-level skill, both players," Granato said. "We talked about being down in the chaos of the day but when you look at your line chart as a coach and you look at guys like Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Mittelstadt, [Jeff] Skinner, [Dylan] Cozens, it's nice that you have the skill we have.
"And, again, they're guys that are evolving their careers, evolving in front of all us to watch and you see glimpses of that. I've said it before, you saw a glimpse of it tonight, it's going to happen more and more."

Up next

The Sabres visit the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Coverage on MSG begins at 7:30 p.m. The puck drops at 8.