Postgame Report | Cozens racks up 4 points in 7-4 win over Capitals

Don Granato had no concerns about the Sabres lacking confidence on Sunday, even in the wake of injuries to Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin.
The Sabres announced before their game against the Washington Capitals that Tuch would miss multiple weeks with a lower-body injury and that Dahlin was considered day to day. The two players - one a top-line forward, the other a top-pair defenseman - are tied for second on the team with 62 points apiece.
The 18 skaters who did dress on Sunday would need to step up in a crucial game against one of the teams competing with the Sabres for a playoff berth.
"I don't think these guys worry that there's anything that they can't do in the absence of guys," Granato said.

Granato was vindicated by the result, a 7-4 victory in which 12 different players tallied points. Dylan Cozens had the first hat trick and four-point game of his career with three goals and an assist. Vinnie Hinostroza, Zemgus Girgensons, Tage Thompson, and Jeff Skinner also scored goals.
The victory was the Sabres' fifth in the past six games, the exception being a 6-3 loss at home to Toronto on Tuesday. The Sabres were determined to make up for that performance in front of a sellout crowd at KeyBank Center after back-to-back wins in Florida.
"We had a big disappointment last time here," Granato said. "I know that the guys felt that. Again, this is a very competitive group."

Those responsible for filling the shoes of Tuch and Dahlin played vital roles. Granato promised that another opportunity in Buffalo would arise when Hinostroza was assigned to Rochester on January 20. The veteran winger was recalled Sunday and stepped right into the Sabres' lineup for his first NHL game in over a month.
Hinostroza buried his first goal of the season on the rush, part of a four-goal barrage by the Sabres during the second period. He set up an insurance goal for Cozens in the third.
"It was great to see Vinnie do that and perform the way he did," Granato said.
Jack Quinn, who scored a pair of goals in his last three games entering Sunday, had the task of replacing Tuch on the top line alongside Skinner and Thompson. Quinn had a pair of assists in the second period and energized his teammates when he fought Capitals forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
"He's such an unbelievable player," Cozens said regarding his rookie teammate. "He can shoot, score, and he can fight, too."
Owen Power led the Sabres with 27:43 of ice time, a distinction that typically belongs to Dahlin. Power had an assist and five shots and shut down the Capitals' top line of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson during their shared ice time.

Dahlin will be re-evaluated in the coming days and has not been ruled out for the Sabres' next game, at home on Tuesday against Columbus. But the Sabres will be without Tuch for the foreseeable future. Sunday provided a template for how they can succeed in the meantime.
"He's a big piece of this team," Thompson said. "To have him out for a while is going to be tough. "But like I said earlier, we are going to have a lot of guys who are going to get an opportunity to step up, and I think everyone is ready for that."
Here's more from a big win over Washington.

How it happened

PERIOD 1
The Sabres and Capitals traded four goals in a span of 6:10 to emerge from the period tied, 2-2.
Cozens was sent in alone after a give-and-go play with Casey Mittelstadt and put the Sabres on the board with 9:20 remaining in the period.

Dylan Strome answered for the Capitals, which was then followed by Thompson's goal from the high slot after he intercepted a breakout pass in the Washington zone. Strome set up a T.J. Oshie goal just 15 seconds later.

PERIOD 2
Skinner buried a rebound on a Mattias Samuelsson shot 5:49 into the period to ignite a run of four Sabres goal, all scored in a span of seven minutes.

Girgensons parked at the back door and tapped in a feed from Kyle Okposo, who had won the puck following a lengthy battle in the corner.

Hinostroza finished off a tic-tac-toe series on the rush, assisted by Cozens and Owen Power.

Cozens burst behind the defense for his second goal to punctuate the run.

The Capitals responded with two goals to cut the Sabres' lead to 6-4 before intermission. Alex Ovechkin scored from in front, followed by a breakaway power-play `goal from Sonny Milano.
The Sabres outshot the Capitals 17-8 in the period.
PERIOD 3
Cozens tapped in a feed from Hinostroza at the doorstep to make it 7-4 with 8:08 remaining.

What we learned

1. Here are the standings at the conclusion of Buffalo's game with the Sabres back in the second Wild Card spot:
   | Team | GP | Points | Points % | RW | ROW | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WC1 - New York Islanders | 62 | 67 | .540 | 26 | 30 | | WC2 - Buffalo Sabres | 58 | 66 | .569 | 23 | 30 | | Pittsburgh Penguins | 58 | 65 | .560 | 22 | 27 | | Detroit Red Wings | 58 | 64 | .552 | 22 | 26 | | Florida Panthers | 61 | 64 | .525 | 25 | 27 | | Washington Capitals | 62 | 64 | .516 | 23 | 28 |
   The Islanders will take on the Jets at 3:30 p.m. and the Penguins are set to host the Lightning at 6 p.m.
   2.Thompson scored his 40th goal of the season. He joins Alexander Mogilny, Danny Gare (three times), Pat LaFontaine (three times), Rick Martin (five times), Gilbert Perreault (three times), Thomas Vanek (twice), Mike Foligno, Dave Andreychuk (twice), Rene Robert (twice), Jeff Skinner, Miroslav Satan, and Pierre Turgeon with the 26th season of 40-plus goals in Sabres history.
   "It's a good feeling," Thompson said. "I think you obviously set goals for yourself at the beginning of the season, and that is something that I wanted to see if I could get this year. It's kind of one of those things now I guess where you reach it and now you change your goal. And now it's a little further ahead and try to chase that one now."
   3.Granato told Thompson he had more in him when Thompson hit the 30-goal mark for the first time last season (he finished with 38). The Sabres' coach had the same feeling Sunday.
   "He's not even close to his limit, capacity - whatever you want to say - and it's important he strives for more and more and more," Granato said. "I'm very happy for him. He got his 40th tonight, obviously, and that's exciting and all right but there's a lot more for him. I think he knows that."

Up next

The Sabres host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Tickets are available here.
The game can be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu beginning at 7:30 p.m. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the call on WGR 550.