In Buffalo, the New York Islanders’ Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the first period to take a 2-0 lead lead over the Sabres on Monday night.
“He’s engaged, he’s playing that role, he’s going against top people, he’s moving around a little bit,” Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said. “I thought he had a little bit slow start today, honestly. … But I like ‘Pager.’ Pager’s a guy you win with. He gets it done when it matters most.”
Semyon Varlamov made 20 save in the win.
Victor Olofsson cut the Sabres’ deficit in half when he scored in the middle frame; the goal came off the power-play.
“I don’t think we were taking it lightly,” New York’s Brock Nelson said. “They had some time off, but after a break like that, everybody’s fired up to play and is just happy to be back out there. We’ve been in that situation now, different scenarios with bye weeks and things like that. … We knew they were going to come out and have some jump having not played in a bit.”
The Sabres dropped to 4-5-2 with the loss.
“I don’t think it was fatigue,” the Sabres’ Kyle Okposo said. “I just think that we got away from our game a little bit and kind of got sucked into what feeds their game and that’s when you turn the puck over.
“They’re a team that knows how to play with the lead, they know how to lock things down. I just thought we fed into their game in the third period.”
Nelson stretched the Isles’ lead back to two goals with a power-ply marker midway through the third period.
“I think first and foremost, [it’s about] team success,” the Isles’ Josh Bailey said. “That being said, we all take pride in our roles and our jobs on this team. When you’re not doing what’s expected of you, it hurts you. I think it’s a motivating factor to get going, and sometimes you just need some results. I’m looking to build off it personally, and as a team it’s a good win to start the trip. It’s a quick turnaround here, so we can’t sit on it for too long.”
Linus Ullmark made 26 saves in the loss.
“We’ve just got to make a play. That’s what it comes down to,” the Sabres’ Jack Eichel said of the 5-on-5 struggles. “That’s it. We just have to make a play. It’s been frustrating all season. It hasn’t been there 5-on-5. It seems like we’re sloppy. I don’t know, we don’t make a whole lot of plays. It’s tough. It’s tough to score goals in this league when you don’t do that.”
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