'Nobody wants it to end' | Sabres seek to carry momentum into road trip

Kyle Okposo usually sees each season as its own entity, with little carryover from year to year.
This one, he says, feels different.
"It just feels like we're planting the roots a little bit deeper this year," Okposo said Wednesday. "… I haven't talked about this with the guys but, like, I don't want the year to end. It's been so much fun. I have a feeling that a lot of the guys in that room feel the same way. We just want this to continue and we want this to keep going. We've felt that way for a while.
"There's no, 'Let's just make it to the end and just ride this thing out, maybe get a couple wins.' It's go-time every day. That's a fun feeling to have. I think the way that we're building kind of the relationships and the culture here I think is going to be what carries over."

Video: After Wednesday's Practice: Kyle Okposo\
The Sabres improved to 10-4-3 since the beginning of March with their comeback win over the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center on Tuesday. Seven of those victories came against teams occupying playoff spots, including the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes.
They have an opportunity to keep that momentum going over the final 11 games of the season, beginning with another tough slate on the road. The Sabres open a four-game road trip with a rematch in Carolina on Thursday, then makes stops in Florida, Tampa, and Toronto.
Those are four of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference in terms of points percentage (the other being the New York Rangers, who rank fourth).
"It's a stretch here where we play a lot of top teams in the league, but I think we've kind of showed we can beat any team in this league and we know we can beat any team in this league," Dylan Cozens said.
"So, I think we just kind of look at every team in the same way. It's another to just go out there and outwork them, and I think if we do that, we'll be successful. Just keeping it simple and having fun."
Video: After Wednesday's Practice: Dylan Cozens
The Sabres' young players are embracing the competition, but also each other's company.
"They really just enjoy hockey and playing and talking about the game, talking about the league, players in the league, talking about things that they see to get better and just bouncing stuff off each other and then ribbing each other too and having a good time," Okposo said.
"It's just a really good group of young men and it's going to be fun to watch them grow throughout the years."
But first, 11 games to close out this year. Cozens agreed with Okposo when asked about the prospect of not wanting the season to end, then summed up why in one word.
Winning.
"I mean, we're winning now," he said. "We know that our playoff hopes aren't really alive. When we're playing this good, we look back on the year, there's so many different games we know we could've won and wish we had won that would've kept those hopes more alive.
So, I mean, I think everyone's having a lot of fun right now. We're winning hockey games. … I think we're all the same page, nobody wants it to end. We're all having a lot of fun right now, so we just want to keep that going and keep that going into next year."
Casey Mittelstadt picked the far-side corner from the right faceoff circle against goaltender Frederik Andersen on Tuesday, his fourth goal and 15th point in 29 games this season.
Mittelstadt called it his favorite shot to take. Okposo dissected what makes it effective.
"I think the thing that makes his shot dangerous is the way that he hides his location," Okposo said. "He gave false information on that goal for sure. You see Andersen, he cheats over to that glove side and he's able to snap it low blocker. That's a highly skilled play that a lot of guys can't make."
Video: CAR@BUF: Mittelstadt rips in a great shot from circle
Mittelstadt has three points in the last two games and nine points (2+7) in nine games dating back to March 20, evidence of his growing comfort after missing three separate stints due to injuries.
"He's getting to a place where I know he expects himself and he wants to be," Okposo said. "He's going to continue to grow, he's going to continue to learn how to score goals different ways, set up guys different ways. I think there's a lot of growth that's going to continue to happen in his game."
Colin Miller skated with the team for the second straight day after returning from COVID-19 protocol on Tuesday. Granato said he was unsure if the defenseman will be ready to play against Carolina.
"I don't know if tomorrow's realistic, but we'll see," Granato said. "He's going to give it a little push now."
Here's how the group lined up:
| April 6 | | --- | | | C | RW | | 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch | | 74 Rasmus Asplund | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 71 Victor Olofsson | | 19 Peyton Krebs | 24 Dylan Cozens | 29 Vinnie Hinostroza | | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 20 Cody Eakin | 21 Kyle Okposo | | 96 Anders Bjork | | 15 John Hayden | | LD | RD | G | | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 41 Craig Anderson | | 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 78 Jacob Bryson | 31 Dustin Tokarski | | 4 Will Butcher | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | | | 33 Colin Miller | 13 Mark Pysyk | |