The Buffalo Sabres went all-in at the trade deadline on Friday to toughen up for the postseason, and they kept winning in the process.
Owners of an NHL-high streak of six wins, they added to their roster then beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Saturday night to open a five-game homestand.
The Sabres will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night in the third meeting between the Atlantic Division foes, who each have 82 points atop the standings though the visitors have two games in hand. They split the two previous games and will close the season series on April 6 in Buffalo.
The franchise welcomed four players via trade on Friday, but only center Sam Carrick made his Buffalo debut. Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn and Tanner Pearson – all acquired from the Winnipeg Jets — were scratched.
Carrick, acquired from the New York Rangers, centered the fourth line between Zach Benson and Beck Malenstyn as the Sabres moved to 12-2-1 in the past 15 contests with Saturday’s win.
Josh Doan was credited with the game-winning goal with his 19th tally to put the Sabres ahead 3-1 early in the third period, but he pointed to Carrick’s late defensive play and two faceoffs as being key.
“The last 30 or 40 seconds was really good,” Doan said after Nashville made it a one-goal match with 3:52 left. “Obviously, (Sam) winning a faceoff there at the end is huge for us. That’s what he’s unbelievable at and part of the reason he’s such a good hockey player.”
Tage Thompson continued his torrid pace on the offensive end.
Stretching his point streak to a career-high 10 games with a goal, the Team USA gold medalist (team highs with 34 goals, 66 points) became the third Buffalo player in 15 years to reach that length.
Jack Eichel (17 games and nine games) and Sam Reinhart (11) also did it.
The Lightning inserted their own snarl into the lineup with Friday’s addition of Corey Perry, whom they acquired from the Los Angeles Kings for a second-round pick. It is the second career stop with the Lightning for the veteran.
“He has this ability to bring guys into the fight,” Lightning GM Julien BriseBois said. “He knows when and how to raise the temperature on the ice.”
Perry, 40, also knows about finding the net, which he showed in his Tampa Bay debut — a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Playing on a grinding line mostly with Scott Sabourin and Conor Geekie, Perry later found himself in a forward group with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli in an explosive first period, netting his first goal with the Lightning on a pass from Hagel.
The tally was one of four in the first period that put the Lightning ahead 4-1.
The assist was the 200th of Hagel’s career, but Perry drew the attention afterward.
“It’s exciting to be back and be a part of this team,” Perry said following the Lightning’s 5-2 win. “It is like coming home, especially when you know a lot of guys in that room.”
In his fourth consecutive start, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 stops to improve his record to 29-10-3.
However, the 2019 Vezina winner has made four starts in eight days and could turn the net over to Jonas Johansson in Buffalo.
The backup netminder has made just five appearances (three starts) in 22 games since the turn of the new year and is well rested.
Nikita Kucherov posted four assists to reach 100 points for the sixth time.
