Sabres coach Don Granato attributed the team's recent success to healthy competition on the ice.
"I think we have lines feeding off each other," Granato said. "When Jost joined us, his veteran experience with Girgensons and Okposo gave us a pretty good jolt and it might have started there, where we started to have more unity and that uniform look with the forward lines.
"Competitively, I do love our synergy," Granato continued. "…Now it's with that synergy, comes confidence."
Video: AFTER PRACTICE: Granato
The Sabres have displayed this confidence on the ice, with five skaters averaging at least a point per game (Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch, and Dylan Cozens) this season and five players (Thompson, Skinner, Cozens, Dahlin, and Jack Quinn) currently riding five-game point streaks.
The power play has also shined of late as the Sabres have converted on 12-of-27 opportunities in their last eight games.
Buffalo currently ranks third in the league in power-play percentage (29.0), behind Edmonton (29.6) and Colorado (30.3).
Here are more notes from Thursday's practice at KeyBank Center.
1.Here's how the Sabres lined up:
| December 8 |
| --- |
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 22 Jack Quinn |
| 71 Victor Olofsson | 17 Tyson Jost | 37 Casey Mittelstadt |
| 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 19 Peyton Krebs | 21 Kyle Okposo |
| 74 Rasmus Asplund | | |
| LD | RD | G |
| 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 41 Craig Anderson |
| 25 Owen Power | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| 78 Jacob Bryson | 20 Lawrence Pilut | |
| | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | |
2.With his six-point performance last night, Thompson moved into third in the NHL in goals (21), behind Connor McDavid and Jason Robertson. He also ranks fourth in points with 40, behind McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Robertson.
"You get a quick one there and then another one right after that, and you start to feel pretty good and start to feel your game and get some adrenaline going," Thompson said. "The team's playing well, too, so we're getting a lot of opportunities. I think, from there, things just kind of keep going in for you. When you get on a roll like that, you just keep shooting the puck. That's kind of what happened last night."
Thompson's five points (4+1) in the first period were the most by a single player in any individual period in Sabres history, but to him- that was yesterday and today is today.
"It's nice to get a night like that but at the same time you've got to park it and move on," Thompson said. "Today's a new day.
"…I think you always have more you can bring to the table. I think it's just kind of that mindset of not being satisfied. Approaching each day as a new day."
Video: EYE ON SABRES: 5 Questions For 5 Goals
3.The Sabres practiced wearing their Reverse Retro attire, which they will wear Friday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tickets are on sale now.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.
