'We let it go' | Sabres bounce back with 6-2 victory in Seattle

SEATTLE – In the immediate aftermath of a disappointing loss in Detroit on Saturday afternoon, the Buffalo Sabres spoke internally about turning the page.

The two points the Sabres had missed out on in that game were important to their push for a Wild Card berth, but so were the 14 games remaining on their schedule. Tage Thompson emphasized the need to shift their attention forward to their next game against the Seattle Kraken.

“We did a great job of that,” Thompson said. “We let it go.”

Thompson scored 49 seconds into the contest to erase an early deficit and the Sabres went on to earn a 6-2 victory over the Kraken inside Climate Pledge Arena on Monday. Jeff Skinner scored a hat trick while Thompson and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist. Owen Power also added a goal.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started for the 25th time in the last 28 games and made 32 saves.

The Sabres pulled within four points of the second Wild Card spot with the win, now occupied by the Washinton Capitals after their 5-2 victory in Calgary earlier Monday night. The Sabres and Capitals have two head-to-head matchups remaining this season.

The Sabres fell behind just 24 seconds into the game on a goal from Jordan Eberle, the result of a high-pressure opening shift from the Kraken that saw them force a turnover along the boards on the forecheck and find Eberle open in the slot.

Thompson roofed a wrist shot on the rush on the very next shift, igniting a run of three Sabres goals in a span of 4:52. Skinner scored the next goal, faking pass before sending a shot in off the near-side post on a rush. Thompson set up the third goal for Tuch, who scored on a wrist shot from the slot.

Tuch’s goal chased Kraken starter Joey Daccord, who had made 36 saves in the Kraken’s victory in Buffalo earlier this season.

“Obviously we know it’s a tough building to play in and we know they come out strong and they got one quick,” Thompson said. “I think for us it was just important to have a good response and try to get the momentum back, just keep it simple.”

Even after the early response, the Sabres had more work to do to maintain their grip on the game. The Kraken scored early on a four-minute power play to cut the deficit to 3-2 later in the first period, the product of a fortuitous bounce off the body of Matty Beniers. Philipp Grubauer appeared in rhythm upon replacing Daccord, stopping the first 13 shots he faced.

The Sabres stuck with it long enough to extend their lead when Power pounced on a rebound to end a long shift in the Kraken zone midway through the second period. Skinner scored his second goal of the night just 42 seconds later, then completed his hat trick with 1:59 remaining in the third.

The high-scoring night complemented what have been consistent cogs of Buffalo’s success of late: a stout penalty kill that went 4-for-5 (and improved to 10-for-11 in the last three games) and a trustworthy last line of defense in Luukkonen, who held an opponent to three or fewer goals for the 26th time in his last 27 starts.

“UPL made some huge saves for us, and PK had some big blocks,” Skinner said. “I think just weathering that storm was a nice sign because you had a good push and we did a good job sort of locking it down there, especially in the third.”

Thompson’s focus postgame was the same as it was after the loss in Detroit, his attention turned to another difficult road test in Vancouver on Tuesday.

“We have a big win, and we can’t ride the high,” he said. “You’ve got to get back to even keel and make sure we’re ready to go.”

Here’s more from the victory in Seattle.

1. The Sabres defeated the Kraken for the first time in six matchups since Seattle joined the NHL for the 2021-22 season. They did so by solving the Kraken’s high-pressure forecheck with quick, simple decision making coming out of the defensive zone.

“I think for us it was making sure that we were just rimming it out on our breakouts, trying to get the puck past them,” Thompson said. “Then obviously their D pinch on those rims, so you need to be strong on walls and win those battles. We do that, I think we were going to have odd-man rushes a lot tonight and I think we did, especially early on, and got them on their heels.”

2. Sabres coach Don Granato made an early adjustment to his forward lines, shifting Jordan Greenway alongside Skinner and Peyton Krebs. The move helped pave the way for Skinner’s hat trick, with Greenway setting a screen on Skinner’s second goal and delivering a backhand pass to set up his third.

“He's a big body, he keeps it pretty simple and he's always in the right spot, so he's pretty easy to play with,” Skinner said of Greenway.

3. Skinner upped his team-leading goal total to 24 with the hat trick, the seventh of his career.

“He’s deadly,” Thompson said. “When he’s on, he can score, create plays, and that’s a big burst of life for us. Especially, we’ve been struggling to score, so when he gets hot, he’s hot. We need him to start feeling like that and just keep riding it.”

4. Zemgus Girgensons had a pair of assists as he continued to skate on a line alongside Thompson and Tuch. He drove into the offensive zone to push the defense back before delivering a drop pass to set up Thompson’s goal and battled in front of the Seattle net on Tuch’s.

“It’s been fun playing with him,” Thompson said. “He’s a guy that gets not enough recognition, in my opinion. Obviously inside this room everyone respects what he does and appreciates him, but he’s someone that we need every single night and he obviously brings it every night.”

Up next

The road trip continues in Vancouver on Tuesday. Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 9:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 10. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.