Jeff Skinner had just accomplished a remarkable milestone for the first time in his 12-year NHL career, yet true to form, the Buffalo Sabres winger didn’t say much when asked about his four goals and five points Sunday in Montreal.
“It’s nice,” Skinner said after the Sabres’ 5-3 win over the last-place, languishing Montreal Canadiens. “Anytime you can contribute to the team’s success, it’s a good feeling. It’s why you play the game.”
Pleased with his connection with linemates Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner, Thompson knows his goals will come soon.
Describing the performance as “nice” qualifies as the understatement of the Sabres’ season. With six of Buffalo's 32 shots in 17:32 of ice time, Skinner weaved around defenders to create scoring chances with his linemates.
Only one of the four goals was of highlight-reel quality, his top-shelf backhander with 1:46 remaining in regulation to prevent any possible Montreal comeback. Skinner’s first occurred on a redirect, as he stood in the shot lane and got his stick on a Casey Fitzgerald attempt to open the scoring.
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Skinner, two seasons removed from totaling a career-high 40 goals, then uncorked a wrist shot past a screened Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault – the type of play that was rarely seen when Skinner was stuck on the fourth line in former coach Ralph Krueger’s ineffective system.
Ever since the trade with the Sabres went down in November, this was a brewing issue, Mike Harrington says.
But Skinner’s most impressive feat occurred on a goal he didn’t score and illustrated his importance to the Sabres’ plan to build a winner, as he knocked down a clearing attempt to extend a power play that led to Tage Thompson tying the game.
“It’s awesome,” beamed Thompson, who has 15 goals while centering the top line alongside Skinner and Alex Tuch. “It’s a great feeling for everyone in the room when he’s playing well. You can see just the way he is on and off the ice right now. He’s got his confidence going, and it’s fun to be around. He’s a great dude, he’s a heck of a player. When he gets hot, he gets hot.”
This was Skinner’s first hat trick since Oct. 20, 2018, and he had not totaled four goals in any of his previous 817 NHL games. No Sabres player had potted four in a game since Jack Eichel accomplished the feat in November 2019, and it’s only been done four times for Buffalo in the last 28 years.
It’s no secret which players on the current roster need to flourish for the Sabres (15-24-8) to return to prominence, whereas the Canadiens (8-33-7) are still plotting a course with a new general manager and interim head coach amid a 10-game winless streak. And while this was another reminder that plenty still needs to be corrected – particularly in the defensive zone – Buffalo is receiving strong play from its core, Skinner included.
Skinner also had an assist for five points, Thompson provided a power-play goal to tie the score 3-3 late in the second period and Tuch earned three assists to increase his point total to 17 in 15 games with Buffalo.
Jokiharju doesn’t make jaw-dropping plays, aside from pinpoint breakout passes that can be overlooked by the casual observer, but he’s a stable presence on the blue line and unquestionably one of the Sabres’ top trade acquisitions in recent years.
Peyton Krebs, a 21-year-old center also acquired in the Eichel trade, had a highlight-reel pass to set up Thompson’s goal. This was the most active we’ve seen Victor Olofsson in weeks, while Rasmus Dahlin was again outstanding with the puck and Fitzgerald responded well after some difficult moments Thursday night against Columbus.
This was the latest impressive performance by Skinner, and there are at least 45 million reasons why that is significant. He’s under contract through 2026-27 with an annual salary cap hit of $9 million, the club’s highest-paid player by a wide margin. And it was unclear what the Sabres would get from Skinner after he was misused for nearly two seasons by Krueger, who was fired in March 2021.
Across 45 games this season, Skinner has a team-high 20 goals and 34 points. He has six multi-goal games and was averaging 17:06 of ice time entering Sunday, his highest total since signing an eight-year contract with Buffalo in June 2019.
“Well, he’s been scoring, obviously, much more this season than the past bit, and he just keeps getting better,” coach Don Granato said. “I thought he could’ve had a few goals the last few games, he just didn’t score.”
It’s a dramatic improvement from the 21 goals Skinner scored in 112 games between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. He’s driving play from the left wing on the Sabres’ top line, which has carried the club offensively as of late.
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Skinner’s first goal of the game occurred 3:41 into the first period, a significant play, considering Montreal entered Sunday with a 2-26-4 record when its opponent scored first.
And after the Canadiens scored twice to take a 3-2 lead into the final moments of the second period, Skinner knocked a puck out of the air and passed to Krebs, who found Thompson in the left-wing circle for a one-timer, tying goal with 1:36 remaining.
Skinner gave the Sabres a 4-3 lead and completed the hat trick when the puck crossed the goal line as he was dragged to the ice by Jeff Petry. Craig Anderson made 29 saves to lock down his 297th career win, and Skinner scored his fourth of the game on the backhand to halt the Sabres' skid at three games.
“Skinny’s super strong on the puck and reads plays really well, so he can kind of read off of us on the forecheck,” Thompson explained. “I think we all did a good job of reading off each other, finding loose pucks, and then Skinny gets a day like today, everything’s going in, it’s fun to play.”
Here are other observations from the game Sunday:
The next steps for Mittelstadt are uncertain. Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato expressed hope that Mittelstadt can be considered day to day, but it was too soon to lay out a timeline to return.
1. Response
Jacob Bryson deserves high marks for how he performed in his return to the lineup. The 24-year-old was effective in his own end, wisely using his speed to kill plays, including a Cole Caufield rush in the second period. It was particularly impressive that Bryson did this while skating on the right side, where he’ll need to carve out a role next season.
2. In the crease
Anderson ensured this wouldn’t be another ugly third period for the Sabres. The 40-year-old was outstanding over the final 20 minutes, delivering 13 saves to move into 40th all-time in wins. The Sabres are a better team when Anderson is in the crease.
3. Precision passing
Krebs has earned a full-time spot on the top power play unit with his vision and ability to break pressure. His potential was on display with the cross-ice pass to set up the Thompson goal, and the Sabres had 62.5% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when Krebs was on the ice.
"Granato wants to see more fire out of this team. I'm all for it. Skate. Attack. Forecheck. Make some plays. Overcome adversity for once," writes Mike Harrington.
4. On the way
Sabres No. 1 draft pick Owen Power added to his impressive resume Sunday by totaling an assist, three shots on goal and a team-high 20:59 of ice time in Canada’s win over China. Power, 19, has led the team in ice time in each of its three tournament games.
5. Around the boards
The Thompson line combined for 12 shots on goal. … Henri Jokiharju led the Sabres in ice time (23:16), and the club won only 38% of faceoffs. … Thompson has 17 points in his last 16 games. … Olofsson’s goal drought reached 30 games. … Mark Pysyk was a healthy scratch with Bryson drawing back into the lineup.
6. Next
The Sabres are scheduled to host the New York Islanders on Tuesday in KeyBank Center.
