All the Buffalo Sabres do, of late, is win.
The red-hot Sabres will look to extend their eight-game winning streak Monday when they open a three-game road trip with a visit to the St. Louis Blues.
Buffalo picked up its most recent triumph on Saturday, 4-1 against the Boston Bruins in the Sabres’ first game after the NHL’s three-day holiday break. It did so without captain Rasmus Dahlin, who was in Sweden during the break attending to his fiancee, Carolina, who had a heart transplant in the summer. It marked the first time since Dec. 7, 2023, that the Sabres won a game in which Dahlin didn’t play.
Dahlin is expected to join the team in St. Louis.
“We’ve gotten ourselves healthy, the lineup is deeper, the lines have had some continuity to them,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “It’s like a competition between the lines now, who can go out (and) do the best job.”
Mattias Samuelsson, Dahlin’s partner on the top defense pairing, stepped up against the Bruins and continued what has been a rejuvenation for the defenseman. He not only had a goal and two assists against Boston, but his strong defensive play helped get things going. With the Sabres down 1-0 early in the second period, he snuffed out Bruins forward Morgan Geekie behind the Buffalo net with a hit that forced a turnover and then led the ensuing rush up the ice that resulted in Ryan McLeod’s tying goal.
The 25-year-old upped his career-best numbers to six goals, 12 assists and 18 points in 35 games, putting him on pace for 39 points for the season. He entered the current campaign with 43 points in 212 NHL games.
“I think I made a big emphasis on my game this year to try to play more of a 200-foot game,” Samuelsson said. “Plays like that, good defensively, end plays, get up in the rush, whether it’s the four-man or like that one, lugging the puck up the ice, that’s hockey, that’s fun, that’s making plays.”
The Blues head into the contest looking to win consecutive games for just the fourth time this season after a 3-2 home victory against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. They last won two straight on Dec. 6-7 but then went on a two-game losing streak. They’ve alternated wins and losses over the seven games since, going 4-2-1 in that stretch.
“Anytime you’re coming out of the (holiday) break, first periods are usually sloppy, but we came out with purpose and played well and really set the tone for the game,” forward Robert Thomas said. “Starts are so important, something we’re really emphasizing on. It’s nice to feel good about yourself coming out of the first period.”
St. Louis has scored 34 goals in the opening frame, tied for 10th in the NHL entering Sunday. It’s been a struggle over the final 40 minutes, though, with 32 in each of the second and third, which rank 24th and 29th, respectively. The Blues’ season total of 98 through 39 games ranks 30th in the league.
“We’re not a confident team (leading after two periods) right now and we’ve got to build towards that,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said.
