BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres took another step toward ending the longest playoff drought in NHL history.
Tuesday night, the Sabres grinded through a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders to get to 100 points on the season, the first time they’ve hit that mark since 2010. And while the Sabres were handling their business, the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers — the top three teams pushing for a playoff spot — all lost in regulation. Because the Sabres have already locked up the regulation wins tiebreaker over the Red Wings and Flyers, they can now clinch a playoff spot with a road win over the Senators on Thursday night.
“It feels good to see that 100 on there,” forward Peyton Krebs said. “It’s been a lot of work, obviously. Lot of ups and downs. We still got a long ways to go here, but that feels good to hit that 100. I think it’s going to really give us some momentum here in the last few games and in the playoffs.”
The Sabres had to pay a price to get points 99 and 100, though. Late in the second period, Anders Lee hit Josh Norris from behind into the boards. Norris went face-first into the glass and was bleeding from his chin and mouth. Lee didn’t receive a penalty.
And then, on the opening faceoff of the third period, Sam Carrick dropped the gloves to fight Lee. Carrick is 3 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter than Lee, so it was a tough matchup. Carrick handled his own before getting off-balance and twisting his arm while being dragged to the ice. Carrick was writhing in pain and had to be helped to his feet by his teammates before he went to the locker room with a left arm or shoulder injury.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Carrick will be evaluated further Wednesday.
“I mean, you look at what Carrick’s done for us,” Ruff said. “I don’t think I can say enough about him. He’s fought; he’s scored goals. He’s been a big, big part of our team, and for him to challenge a guy that hit Norris from behind, I just hate to lose him.”
Carrick came to the Sabres at the NHL trade deadline and has made an immediate impact on the team’s fourth line. He wins faceoffs, kills penalties and has five goals in 13 games as a Sabre. Even with the depth the Sabres have, losing Carrick for any extended period of time wouldn’t be easy to handle.
Tuesday night, they managed to respond. A few minutes after Carrick left, the Sabres got a power play, and Tage Thompson buried a wrist shot from the slot for his 38th goal of the season.
The Islanders managed to tie the score late in the third period when Lee threw a puck to the front of the net and it hit Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s stick, then bounced off Owen Power and into the net. But a few minutes later, the Sabres got a dominant shift from their top line. After an all-out effort to backcheck and end an Islanders rush in the neutral zone, the Sabres regained possession, and Thompson flipped the puck down the ice. Alex Tuch won a race to it, skated it behind the net and found Krebs with a perfect backhand pass. Krebs finished with a goal, then jumped into the boards to celebrate.
“You could tell that shift Tuchy had his legs, and he was feeling it,” Krebs said. “He had a lot of speed there, doing his thing that he usually does, taking away, and I kind of had a feeling he was going to throw it in there and just had to be in the right spot at the right time.”
Bowen Byram added an empty-netter, and the Sabres escaped with a 4-3 win. With the victory, they moved back into first place in the Atlantic Division. They have to win just one more game to bring playoff hockey back to Buffalo.
Sam Carrick left in the third period after fighting Anders Lee. (Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
Here’s what else we saw in Buffalo’s win.
1. The Sabres’ power play is suddenly hot. This game swung thanks to two power-play goals, first from Jack Quinn early on and then from Thompson in the third period. Norris had the assist on both goals, which marked his first multipoint game since March 5. Quinn has been productive lately, and Thompson seems to have more room to operate on the power play with the addition of another shooting threat. If the Sabres can get their power play figured out before the playoffs, it will be a big boost in the postseason.
2. Zach Metsa was back in the lineup after the Sabres sent him down to the AHL for the weekend. He played on a pair with Logan Stanley, which meant Michael Kesselring, Conor Timmins and Luke Schenn were the three scratches on defense.
One thing holding back Metsa’s case for the playoff lineup is that the Sabres haven’t given him much time on the penalty kill. That changed Tuesday. With a 2-1 lead late in the third period, Ruff sent Metsa out there for a shift on the PK, and he handled it well. That’s the latest sign of Ruff trying to expand Metsa’s role to see how much he can handle.
3. Jordan Greenway returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 22. He’s had two surgeries in the last two seasons for a lingering core muscle injury. He recently tried an alternative rehab treatment and is feeling the best he has felt all season.
Greenway logged 11:13 of ice time, including 1:33 on the penalty kill. Especially with Carrick exiting the lineup, having a healthy Greenway available for the fourth line will be useful down the stretch.