Krebs, Okposo show their worth in Buffalo Sabres win over Penguins

The Buffalo Sabres have a pair of forwards who do little on the scoring front, but that doesn’t mean they don’t carry value.

Buffalo Sabres forwards Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo aren’t your high-skilled scorers, and both are better known for what they can do without the puck rather than with it. And while they bring immense value defensively, the duo showed that they are more than just a pair of defensive forwards.

Let’s start with Krebs, who since last season, has known how to inject energy into his team. It happened again in last night’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins when he got tangled up with veteran defenseman Kris Letang.

It seems like every time the Sabres need to pick up the pace, Krebs is there to mix things up with even some of the league’s most well-known players. Remember, he also fought Sidney Crosby during the preseason, so he has no problem with going after some of the Penguins most respected fan favorites.

But it wasn’t Krebs’ scuffle with Letang that got the Sabres going last night. Instead, Captain Kyle Okposo made sure the Blue and Gold were at least going down swinging in what turned out to be a come-from-behind win.

Kyle Okposo was the catalyst behind the Buffalo Sabres big win

Okposo isn’t the player he was, but when he’s frustrated, he will demand the entire team to listen up. And it’s what happened during the second intermission last night when the Sabres looked as though they were heading toward yet another shutout loss to the Penguins. Of course, we don’t know the exact words of Okposo’s speech, but he summarized it with little more than a one-liner:

“Just go. Quit worrying about making so many mistakes and worrying about giving up chances. … There’s no time like the present.”

Source: Observations: Kyle Okposo leads Sabres to memorable come-from-behind win by Lance Lysowski, Buffalo News

It’s safe to say the Buffalo Sabres responded well, as not only did they score just after the five-minute mark in the third period, but the goal happened to occur on the power play, something the Blue and Gold struggled with all season. Then Okposo pitched in and scored his first goal since April, which knotted things up before Alex Tuch put the Sabres ahead 3-2.

Overall, Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo may never be known for their offense, but they still carry value for the Blue and Gold. Krebs has the ability to ignite much-needed energy at times while Okposo’s leadership abilities remain on full display.

(Game information provided by NHL.com)