Buffalo Sabres receive lavish praise from San Jose Sharks head coach

The San Jose Sharks are trying to hunt down a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky is hopeful his players will learn something from the shift-to-shift desperation shown by the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

Warsofsky delivered high praise of the Sabres, whose 6-3 win over San Jose marked the club's eight straight victory since its return from the NHL's break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"I think sometimes we think we're working hard, but that's a whole other level," Warsofsky told reporters. "That team works. They skate, they skate to close, they skate in all three zones, they skate with the puck to get on the attack. It's a good hockey team."

A lot of people around the NHL are stunned by Buffalo's turnaround — the Sabres occupied last place in the Eastern Conference on Dec. 8 before embarking on their current 29-5-2 run — but a lot of the success can be traced back to Jarmo Kekalainen taking over the front office in mid-December.

Sabres superstar Tage Thompson noted on a subsequent appearance on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast that Kekalainen commanded instant respect and delivered a clear expectation of accountability to the locker room.

"You are all pretty much all expendable, and no one is safe," Thompson recalled from the new general manager's first message to the team. "We are going to start working, and if you don't want to work, you're not gonna be on the team."

The standard set from the top matters. Former GM Kevyn Adams was the king of excuses, and his players tended to follow suit in their postgame press conferences.

Times have change in Buffalo.

On the ice, the Sabres are relentless on the forecheck and skate hard getting back defensively, two things that were almost never true during their NHL-record 14-year playoff drought. They also don't back down at the first sign of adversity as was so often the case in the past.

People, both those in Western New York and around North America, were slow to start believing in the Blue and Gold because of previous hot streaks that quickly became long losing skids. But if Buffalo keeps playing the type of hockey that impressed Warsofsky, big things are possible.

For now, let's analyze the latest edition of our Sabres player grades series as the red-hot squad moved four points clear of the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Atlantic Division

Jack Quinn scores a hat trick to spark the Buffalo Sabres to a March 10 win over the San Jose Sharks

Sabres player grades

Buffalo Player of the Game: Jack Quinn

Quinn is frequently mentioned by Sabres fans looking to build trade packages, but does he deserve more respect within the fanbase? It sure seems that way. The 24-year-old winger has tallied 28 points (nine goals and 19 assists) with a plus-18 rating over the past 35 games.

Yes, there's an occasional turnover (35 giveaways during the same span) and his defensive awareness is still a work in progress, but there's serious value in secondary scorers. He's on pace for 54 points while receiving virtually no ice time on Buffalo's top power play.

Could Quinn ultimately be moved over the summer as Kekalainen begins reshaping the roster because of a salary-cap crunch? Of course. That said, it's time to stop treating the 2020 first-round pick like he's a boat anchor. He fills a niche role quite well, as his hat trick against the Sharks illustrated.

His line with Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker has been on fire of late, too.

Sabres quick hits

• Another standout showing from Rasmus Dahlin, who'd likely be firmly in the Norris Trophy conversation if not for a sluggish start to the campaign.

• Beck Malenstyn delivered another highlight-reel goal. He only scores SportsCenter Top 10 candidates.

• Zucker and Alex Tuch was the other goal scorers for Buffalo.

• It was good to see Zach Benson taking some shifts on the top line with Tuch and Tage Thompson. That's where he belongs based on the current roster complexion.

• Josh Norris had a quiet night offensively but he won six out of his seven faceoffs.

• Whether Logan Stanley has the foot speed to keep up with the Sabres' pace of play is a legitimate question, but his physical presence was immediately obvious in his team debut following a trade deadline arrival from the Winnipeg Jets.

• Not the best outing from Alex Lyon, though he did help the Blue and Gold withstand a third-period push from San Jose.

• The Sabres (40-19-6) remain home at the KeyBank Center for a Thursday night (7 p.m. ET) clash with the Washington Capitals (32-26-7).