2 - Chemistry between the top scorers
The Sabres top-six enjoyed a phenomenal outing, and you can argue it was their best all season sans perhaps their 9-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. We already talked about Skinner, Tage, and Tuch connecting on the power play, but what about JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn, who put together several good looks, even if they didn’t always find twine?
One of them did, however, and it occurred at the 6:45 mark of the third period when Quinn and Peterka did a little back-and-forth with blueliner Connor Clifton joining in. It ended with Quinn’s fourth goal of the year, and he would later cap things off with an assist.
To be frank, if the Sabres top-six keeps this momentum going this Saturday, then they will more than set the stage for a far more successful January and leave the first half of this season in 2023 where it belongs. Now that Quinn should be fully acclimated at this point and the top-six appears to have gotten out of this game healthy, there are no more excuses - good hockey is mandatory.