Sabres hold on for the victory after taking a 4-1 lead in the second period
Tage Times Two
After missing five weeks with a broken hand, Tage Thompson had a difficult time finding the back of the net, but once he was able to take off a protective brace, the Sabres top center began to get on the scoreboard. With the two first-period goals he scored on Thursday, Thompson has tallied seven times in the last nine games and is only three goals behind Jeff Skinner for the club lead.
Greenway Up The Middle
With Skinner out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, head coach Don Granato made an unusual lineup adjustment, moving Casey Mittelstadt to left wing and promoting him up to the top line with Thompson and Alex Tuch, and shifting winger Jordan Greenway to center between Kyle Okposo and rookie Zach Benson.
Greenway played nearly 20 minutes on the night five-on-five and the penalty kill in his first NHL game playing up the middle and may have to do so again, depending on Thompson’s injury status on Saturday.
Ottawa Ouch
The Sabres are not in danger of slipping any further down the Atlantic Division standings, as the victory over the Senators opened up a 12-point lead over Ottawa. In spite of some great individual talent like Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, and Drake Batherson, the Sens are a mess defensively and cannot put together a consistent effort.
Ottawa fired head coach DJ Smith and is hoping that veteran bench boss Jacques Martin can have a positive impact on the club before they search for a permanent replacement behind the bench this summer, but new GM Steve Staios might just have to consider finding a few veteran pieces to help the young Senators core group make some progress.
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