GLENDALE, Ariz. – Craig Anderson couldn't pay attention to the chaos that surrounded his crease Saturday morning in Gila River Arena.
Anderson, 40, had to physically and mentally prepare himself to play his first game for the Buffalo Sabres since he suffered an upper-body injury on a collision with San Jose's Tomas Hertl on Nov. 2.
It was impossible to ignore the calamity, though. Assistant coaches Matt Ellis and Marty Wilford were pulled off the ice midway through the morning skate by General Manager Kevyn Adams after both tested positive for Covid-19. Four Sabres players, including Rasmus Dahlin, were awaiting second results after they too tested positive.
And later in the day, the Sabres learned that Dahlin, Ellis and forwards Rasmus Asplund and Victor Olofsson were among eight in the team's traveling party to enter Covid-19 protocol. The Sabres were forced to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, one of whom suffered an injury only 2:50 into the game.
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Yet on a night when they had every reason to fall victim to this latest adversity, the Sabres outworked the Arizona Coyotes for much of the game and received 27 saves from Anderson in a 3-1 win.
"I felt like I was 40," joked Anderson, still flushed from the turbulent final moments of regulation.
Anderson didn't perform like it, though, and his heroics were needed when the short-handed Sabres lost defenseman Will Butcher to a lower-body injury moments into the game. Butcher crumpled to the ice when his legs were taken out from under him during a scramble for a loose puck.
When the Coyotes' league-worst power play had two wide-open looks in the first period, Anderson stood tall, moving from right to left to thwart a one-timer by Christian Fischer at the far post.
"It was a nice finish to a really chaotic day," said coach Don Granato. "I thought Craig was amazing. How simple he makes the game look in the net. ... You can see why he’s been a great goaltender for a long time. "
Propelled by goals from Kyle Okposo, Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch, the Sabres (14-22-7) have won three of their last five games and delivered the response Granato wanted after a 5-0 drubbing in Ottawa on Tuesday. Buffalo had 35 shots on goal, including 30 through the first 40 minutes, and received multiple points from Krebs and Tuch.
Arizona (10-29-4) entered Saturday ranked 31st in the league in goals scored and allowed, and it was playing the second game of a back-to-back. But the quality of the opponent shouldn’t diminish what Buffalo was able to accomplish.
While the Coyotes looked lethargic and disinterested, the Sabres overcame some off-the-mark passes early by outmuscling Arizona for the puck and Anderson stymied each of the home team’s chances in the first period.
All the injuries and Covid-19-related absences forced Granato to reconfigure his lines, pairings and special teams units. While the top power play had a sloppy start with Henri Jokiharju running the point, the second group stepped onto the ice and quickly gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead.
The Coyotes backed up too far in their own zone, giving Kyle Okposo plenty of room to uncork a wrist shot that went inside the far post at 7:02 into the game. The Sabres were quickly exiting their zone and winning battles along the boards, but right when they were rolling, adversity struck again when Tage Thompson lost an edge and fell on his right shoulder.
But as Thompson grimaced in pain on the Sabres’ bench, Casey Mittelstadt carried the puck down the left wing in the Coyotes’ end and sent a perfect cross-ice, 2-on-1 pass to Krebs, who one-timed a shot in for the 2-0 lead at 15:07 into the game. The goal was Krebs’ third in as many games and Mittelstadt picked up his first point since Nov. 29.
"I think at the end of the day, we have to look at ourselves and say what can we control," said Anderson, a 19-year veteran of the NHL. "It’s what we have in the room. It’s not what we don’t have. … You can’t worry about we’re missing this guy, we’re missing that guy, and think it’s going to be a horrible night."
Thompson immediately left for the trainers' room, and although he returned to finish the game, it was apparent the 24-year-old center was in pain for most of his 15:49 on the ice.
And it was Tuch who added to the Sabres' lead at 7:14 into the second period, as the winger was at the far post for a tap-in goal on a Krebs pass that sliced through the Arizona defense.
The Sabres’ 3-0 lead through two periods would have been far worse for Arizona if it weren’t for goalie Karel Vejmelka, who made several impressive stops. He protected the bottom of the net when Tuch skated in alone on a 2-on-1 feed from Jeff Skinner and there was a right pad save on Dylan Cozens’ backhander.
The Coyotes didn't break through until 8:30 remaining in the third period when Shayne Gostisbehere scored on a slap shot during a power play, and they nearly cut the deficit to one goal during a 14-shot final 20 minutes of regulation. However, Anderson protected his crease amid the chaos, scrambling to stifle a few chances by the Coyotes and ensuring the Sabres would skate off the ice with far more joy than when they left it Saturday morning.
"I felt like a kid again," said Anderson. "I reminded myself tonight why I put in the work the last couple months. Go out there, enjoy it and have fun."
Here are other observations from the game Saturday night:
1. Trending up
It didn’t take long for Tuch to emerge as the Sabres’ best player and there's more to come. He’s still learning the nuances of Granato’s system, which makes his 12 points in 11 games even more impressive. But what we’re seeing from Krebs is remarkable. The 21-year-old has five points in nine games with Buffalo after totaling only one in 13 games with Vegas.
"You can talk about his skill all day and his vision and how he can dish, and obviously he finished tonight, but for me it was just his tenacity on the bench, on the forecheck, protecting the puck," Okposo said of Krebs, who had 19:18 of ice time. "He just, he competes and that’s something that when you’re a young, skilled guy sometimes you have to learn how to do that in the NHL, but he doesn’t. That’s going to take him a long way."
2. Back in action
We don’t talk enough about Okposo’s impact on the ice. The stat line doesn’t illustrate how he makes the Sabres better, although his 24 points through 38 ranks fourth on the team behind only Thompson, Dahlin and Skinner. Okposo executes Granato’s style of play with precision, including on special teams, and is among the club’s best when it comes to winning battles along the boards and in front of the net.
The Sabres’ allowed seven power-play goals during Okposo’s three-game absence and gave up a total of 13 goals in all situations. Okposo, 33, can play up or down the lineup, and his effort from puck drop Saturday was a catalyst for a team that needed an injection of energy.
3. Around the boards
Winger Zemgus Girgensons did not play because of an undisclosed injury that will keep him out until after the all-star break. … Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen continues to skate on his own in Rochester with a goal of returning from a lower-body injury following the break. … With Girgensons out, defenseman Mark Pysyk served as an alternate captain for Buffalo. … Following the Amerks’ loss Saturday, coach Seth Appert announced that forward Ryan MacInnis will likely miss time because of a lower-body injury, eliminating a possible recall option for the Sabres. … Tuch finished with seven shots on goal, while Jokiharju led all Buffalo players in ice time (22:48).
4. Odd man out
Suspended goalie Aaron Dell’s inevitable exit from the Sabres’ roster became official Saturday when the 32-year-old was placed on waivers. Dell was suspended three games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Wednesday for a body check that interfered with and injured Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson. Dell’s demotion was expected because of his performance and the club needed to open a roster spot for Anderson.
Dell, who signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Sabres in July, has a 1-8-1 record and .893 save percentage in 12 games for Buffalo.
5. Next
The Sabres will face the first-place Avalanche (31-8-3) at 8 p.m. Sunday in Colorado, and will practice Monday afternoon in Las Vegas. Colorado’s 17-game win streak at home is the fifth-longest such run in NHL history.
