Sabres showcase maturity, roar back to beat Ducks: ‘You see the change’

BUFFALO – In the not-so-distant past, a game like Tuesday’s 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Anaheim Ducks would’ve been a four-goal loss, Sabres winger Alex Tuch said.

By the third period, when the Sabres began roaring back from a 2-0 deficit, they would’ve been toast, having wilted earlier in the contest.

But they’ve matured over the last few months. Perhaps it’s too late to help them this season.

Even after earning their sixth win straight home win and sixth victory in their last seven contests, they still rank last in the Eastern Conference, 11 points out of the second wild card spot.

“I’d say three months ago it would’ve been a 5-1 loss, honestly,” said Tuch, whose Sabres have their longest winning streak at KeyBank Center since November 2018. “And you see the maturity, you see the change, you see no one was down. We were pushing each other, we were pressing each other, we’re making sure each other were held accountable and making sure we were doing the right things the whole time.

“It was awesome. It was contagious. We had line after line after line going out there and playing the right way.”

The Sabres started well, thoroughly outplaying the Ducks and outshooting them 10-5 in the first period. Two power-play goals, however, put the visitors up early.

“Earlier in the year, I talked about (how) we didn’t deal with adversity very well,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We took what I call a bad penalty early in the game. Gave them a five-on-three, we gave them some life – and we’ve been a good first-period team.

“Early in the year, we didn’t handle that very well. We’d probably ramp it up a little bit too soon, and all of a sudden it’s probably three or four for them, and we’re chasing the game. I thought we stayed with it. I think it shows some of the growth of the club.”

Following a weak second period – some fans in the crowd of 13,921 howled in disgust at times – the Sabres displayed that growth throughout the third. Ruff changed his top three lines because a puck hit center Jiri Kulich in the face and he wasn’t breathing well, and his players immediately responded.

Winger JJ Peterka scored at 1:56, converting a nifty feed from center Dylan Cozens. Tuch tied the game at 5:34, grabbing his own rebound after his shot went behind Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal.

“Even when things were going well, we just kept battling, kept working, we trusted that we were going to win this game, and we never gave up,” Cozens said.

Jokiharju’s slick goal – his shot from low in the right circle sailed over Dostal’s left shoulder – held up as the winner.

After moving in and out of the lineup all season, Jokiharju, who recently represented Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off, has scored in two straight games.

“He’s been through a little bit this year with not being in the lineup every game, but he’s a great player, he’s got all the tools,” Cozens said. “He’s been playing with a lot of confidence since 4 Nations, and we’re all happy for him.”

Cozens, meanwhile, assisted on all three goals, tying his career high.

“He was just so smart out there,” Tuch said. “I mean, he was controlling the play, and it’s really good to see.”

The Sabres as a team controlled the play most of the night. They pumped 35 shots on goal and attempted 81 (26 misses and 20 blocked). The Ducks, meanwhile, put 18 shots on Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and attempted 43.

Very quietly, the Sabres have been on a roll at home. Having scored 29 goals during their streak, they’ve been exciting.

For years, they’ve talked about making KeyBank Center a rink opponents detest visiting. Maybe it’s finally happening.

“We want it to be a loud, tough building for teams to come into,” Cozens said. “I think when we play the right way, we play physical, we get the crowd behind us, they get loud and gives us a lot of energy, which helps us a lot.

“We want to it to be a tough place to play here in Buffalo, and I think we did that tonight.”

The win marked the 15th time in franchise history the Sabres trailed by two or more goals entering the third period and registered a regulation win.

Still, triumphs like Tuesday’s – defenseman Henri Jokiharju’s goal 9:31 into the third period put the Sabres up – offer some hope.