After winning what is considered the Game of the Year on Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the focus shifts from trying to get the lead in the Atlantic Division to now protecting their spot in first place. Their first challenge was Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks at KeyBank Center, and they rose to the occasion with a 6-3 win over the Sharks.
It was a game that the Sabres once again jumped out to an early lead with two quick goals in the first period. The Sharks would not go away, and Macklin Celebrini scored the Sharks' first goal, and the two teams went into the first intermission with a score of 2-1.
In the second, it was more of the same as the Sabres scored the first two goals of the period before the Sharks scored one late, as Kiefer Sherwood scored with about 30 seconds left in the period. The Sabres responded with a goal 42 seconds into the third period to build a 5-2 lead.
The Sharks would score a power play goal, but that is as close as they would get with Jack Quinn scoring the empty net goal to secure the 6-3 victory. These are five takeaways from the game on Tuesday night.
Logan Stanley makes Sabres' debut and pairs with Michael Kesselring
The Buffalo Sabres were able to give fans a little surprise for this game as Logan Stanley would make his debut. He wasn't expected to play after not being able to practice this morning, as his visa continued to get worked out.
However, it appears that any outstanding issues were taken care of as he was active for this game and was on the ice against the Sharks. He would start the game on the third pair with Michael Kesselring and finished with 14 shifts and over 13 minutes of ice time.
What is even more notable about Stanley's performance tonight is that Kesselring saw more ice time as Lindy Ruff clearly showed more confidence in this pair. This would be the first time since the first game back from the Olympic break that Kesselring had over 13 minutes of ice time, and only the second game in the past 11.
The Sabres being able to find a little more balance between their three pairs in terms of ice time is going to be a huge boost for this team through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.
The Brawlin' Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres have not been known for fighting this season, but that all changed against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning certainly came in with a plan to try and be physical to rattle the Sabres, and they didn't back down.
That mentality seemingly carried over on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks, starting with Logan Stanley. The recently acquired defenseman was in the arena against the Lightning, but was unable to play due to visa issues.
However, he wasted no time in joining in as he would drop the gloves at center ice with Zack Ostapchuk. Shortly after that, Beck Malenstyn laid a big hit on Macklin Celebrini, and Barclay Goodrow started a fight with Malenstyn to protect his teammate.
While the fights certainly get the fans and players going, it is also a clear message to the rest of the league. In the second period, Zach Benson provided the biggest example of this when Tage Thompson took a shot low, and Benson wasted no time getting involved.
There is no question that this team is ready for the physical play that comes with the playoffs, and they aren't going to back down.
Alex Tuch plays in his 600th NHL game and registers his 300th point with the Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres were smart not to trade Alex Tuch at the trade deadline, but with the way he is playing, the chances of re-signing him after the season only continue to go down. On Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks, Tuch played in his 600th career NHL game with 344 with the Sabres, 249 with the Vegas Golden Knights, and six with the Minnesota Wild to begin his career.
In the game, Tuch celebrated another milestone as he registered his 300th point with the Buffalo Sabres with a goal in the first period. He also extended a point streak to seven games and now has six goals and three assists during that stretch.
Tuch made some big plays against the Tampa Bay Lightning as he had both a power-play goal and a short-handed goal in their 8-7 victory. He continues to deliver timely goals for the Sabres and against the Sharks, just set up right in front of the net and redirected a Rasmus Dahlin shot past Yaroslav Askarov.
Jack Quinn breaks out of his scoring slump with a hat trick
The line of Jason Zucker, Ryan McLeod, and Jack Quinn has collectively been great and has been playing very well together recently. However, the only criticism as of late has been Quinn's inability to find the back of the net.
That changed on Tuesday night against the Sharks as he not only had one but three goals in this game, starting with the first goal for Buffalo only about four minutes into the game. These were Quinn's first goals in 12 games, and the last time he scored before tonight was all the way back on January 27th against Toronto.
This line accounted for three of the five goals as Jason Zucker also had a goal, and now has four in the last three games, and continues to be a big reason for their success.
Buffalo Sabres avoid an emotional letdown against the San Jose Sharks
The game Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning had the biggest expectations for a game in over a decade for the Buffalo Sabres. Then the game itself happened, and it ended up being an instant classic that the Sabres would win and take first place in the Atlantic Division.
There is no question that after a game like that, the Sabres could have come out flat or without urgency. Neither of those things happened, as they would score two goals early in the first and build that lead to two goals after the second.
It never really felt at any point in this game that the Sabres were in trouble of losing it, and any time the Sharks cut the lead, the Sabres were able to respond quickly. For a young team to have that kind of maturity is just another sign of the growth this team has shown this season.
The Sabres will be back home again for their next game on Thursday night against the Washington Capitals and will try to extend their win streak to nine.