"I feel like I'm skating better, a little bit more comfortable with the puck again," Johansson said. "It kind of goes to the point where you don't have confidence and you know you can do it and you want to do it, you force things a little bit, you don't kind of get it to work.
"I feel like lately it's just kind of come a little bit naturally for myself as well and I'm starting to find myself a little bit more again. It makes it more fun to play hockey, too."
We wrote Tuesday about how Kahun has enjoyed early success with the Sabres due in part to his chemistry with Johansson. Krueger described the line as having an "east-west" offensive dynamic and Olofsson suggested their ability to change places on the rush makes them unpredictable for defenses.
Johansson, too, has felt the benefits of this newly formed trio. Though they rarely played together during the regular season, Johansson and Olofsson have both said they had immediate chemistry early in training camp. Kahun's style has been a perfect complement.
"We grew up playing the same type of hockey and we all like to play with the puck and hold onto it and make plays, kind of a European style a little bit, I guess," Johansson said.
"… Sometimes there's something that clicks. So far, it's been good. We've created a lot of chances and scored a couple goals. So hopefully we can keep that going."
Krueger, who spent more than three decades playing and coaching in Europe, also suggested the trio's chemistry can be traced to their similar origins.
"I just think they have similar concepts of how they like to play, and the movement, for everybody to see, there's a European past in their education," he said. "They just have a way of finding the lanes. That movement, interchanging of positions, rarely are they stuck in one lane or in one position.
"They're always looking for speed and space and they're finding each other really nicely, too. There's good puck movement there, and very threatening on the rush, which is something we feel from the top teams in the league is where they're most effective."