Sabres continue to build toward identity with win over Stars

Lindy Ruff pointed to all the small details that added up to a victory on Tuesday, elements that the Buffalo Sabres have been working to ingrain as part of their identity.

He singled out the 27 blocked shots, including five apiece from Jordan Greenway and Connor Clifton. He pointed to the Sabres’ commitment to defensive tracking and the wherewithal to break a scoreless tie with a dirty goal at the opposing net.

It all paved the way to a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars, who were 5-1-0 entering the night and 4-0-0 in games started by goaltender Jake Oettinger.

The Sabres improved to 3-4-1 with the victory, their second in a row after defeating Chicago on Saturday.

“We suffered a couple tough losses,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think when you deal with losses like that, the adversity can make you stronger. And I think it’s making us stronger.”

Owen Power tallied three assists for the Sabres, who broke a 0-0 tie with goals from Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod scored 1:23 apart during the latter half of the second period. It was the first time the Stars trailed by two goals in a game this season, and the deficit increased when Tage Thompson buried a one-timer early in the third period.

The Stars threatened to come back with two goals scored while Oettinger was pulled for an extra attacker, but Alex Tuch scored an empty-net goal to ice the victory.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves for his second straight win – including all seven of the high-danger shots he faced, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Sabres have spoken throughout the start of the season about committing to the process of how they want to play under Ruff – physical, aggressive, and fast-paced – and trusting that results would follow. They started the season 0-3-0 but felt two of those losses were largely the result of missed offensive chances and hot opposing goaltenders.

They’ve gone 3-1-1 since that start while continuing to produce scoring chances at a high rate. Their average of 12.71 high-danger attempts per 60 minutes ranks ninth in the NHL. They’ve scored four or more goals in each of the last five games.

But the identity the Sabres are forging has more to do with the habits they’re building away from the puck.

“Our team as a whole is just more mature,” Thompson said. “We got a lot of guys that have been here for a while, a lot of young guys that have learned. I think the biggest thing for us is puck management.

“There’s a lot of times in the past where we come out and we want to create offense and that’s a great thing to have, but at the risk of making plays at their blue line or your blue line that gives them offense. It just gets you chasing the game. I think so far, everyone’s just committed to the game plan that we’re just going to put pucks behind them, we’re going to stay on the D side of pucks.”

Thompson pointed to the first period Tuesday as an example of that defensive commitment. The Sabres played with patience as they awaited their first goal and lulled the Stars into mistakes.

“They try to force passes into the neutral zone where we’re able to sit right on top of them and we’re able to pick them off and go the other way,” Thompson said. “We’ve been on the flip side of that, and it sucks to play against stuff like that. I think that’s just kind of the identity we have. Everyone’s just kind of been committed to that, and I think those little things add up over time.

“I like where our game’s at right now. Obviously, the record’s not what we want, but I think we’re playing a lot better hockey than our record shows right now.”

Here’s more from the win over the Stars.

1. McLeod and Thompson both extended their point streaks to five games. McLeod also has goals in each of the last four games, which is the longest such streak of his career.

McLeod was brought to Buffalo from Edmonton this past summer with reputation for defensive reliability, elite skating and playoff experience, but both he and Sabres general Kevyn Adams expressed belief in his offensive potential.

He’s already one third of the way to last season’s goal total, when he had 12 in 81 games. He scored Tuesday by completing a 2-on-1 rush with linemate Jason Zucker.

“That guy’s got some speed, for sure,” Krebs said. “He’s a great guy off the ice and he works hard, he plays the right way. He brought that from Edmonton and it’s exciting. Four goals in four games, keep it rolling.”

2. In what has become a more common occurrence from the Sabres this season, Krebs went to the opposing net to break the 0-0 tie with 7:39 to play in the second period.

Power initiated the sequence with a one-timer from the point that deflected first off of net-front traffic and then down off the post, where Krebs was waiting to bat it out of mid-air.

“I’m just trying to do that, go to the net more," Krebs said. "Obviously, it’s nice to get that goal and help the team win.”

3. Ruff felt the Sabres were beginning to settle into playing safe as they opened the third period with a 2-0 lead. He credited Thompson with changing that, both on the bench and on the ice.

“I just sensed we were playing a little bit too safe,” Ruff said. “We talked about getting back on our toes and playing in the offensive zone and getting on them and trying to create turnovers. He was the one guy on the bench that got vocal and just said, ‘We’ve got to start making some plays.’ I thought he took charge. That’s what you want to see out of the leaders on your team.”

Thompson carried the puck over the offensive blue line, passed off to Power, then sent the return pass behind Oettinger with a 94.3-mph one-timer for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

4. The Sabres penalty kill was perfect on three tries, all of which came when the game was tied 0-0. The Stars managed just one shot on the power play.

“I thought we did an excellent job with the details,” Ruff said. “I think one failed clear that got us into a little bit of trouble, but I think positionally really sound, didn’t give up the big opportunity. And, again, guys were doing a really good job of being in lanes and denying (shots).”

5. The win opened a four-game homestand for the Sabres, their second-longest this season.

Up next

The homestand continues Saturday afternoon against Detroit.

It will be Hockey Halloween at KeyBank Center – and also the first appearance this season for the team’s black-and-red third jerseys. Find more information on the night here.

Pregame coverage on MSG begins at 12:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 1.