Sabres Use Experience and Youth to Chase Playoffs

Defenseman Owen Power wasn’t born when Buffalo Sabres teammate Craig Anderson played his first professional game with the American League’s Norfolk Admirals in 2000-01.

But Monday the 20-year-old first-round pick Power and the 41-year-old goalie Anderson combined to help the Buffalo Sabres earn a critical 3-2 win against the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars. Power supplied the overtime winner with his first goal of the season (watch here) and Anderson, playing his 700th NHL game, made 29 saves.

The win moved the Sabres (24-19-3) within three points of the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-15-8) for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have won three in a row and four of their last six.

The Sabres are trying to make the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons. They have been out of the playoffs since 2011 and haven’t won a postseason series since 2007. Power, the NHL’s first overall draft pick in 2021, was in kindergarten then.

Power (20 years, 62 days) is the third-youngest defenseman to score in overtime. Tage Thompson set up the GWG with a sweet backhand pass 56 seconds into the OT.

By the way, Power was eight days old when Anderson made his NHL debut on Nov. 30, 2002.

Anderson, born May 21, 1981, is the NHL’s oldest active player. He’s not showing his age, owning an 8-6-2 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and .918 save percentage

“I coached him in Florida 15 years ago,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said after the game. “He has had a great career and if you look at his numbers this year, he is 41 years old and is doing that every night. So put it on him.”

🔥 Dillon Dube's overtime winner (watch here) spoils Johnny Gaudreau's return to Calgary. Playing in his first game in Calgary since signing a seven-year $68.25 million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the offseason, Gaudreau managed to collect two assists but failed to score on an early first period penalty shot (watch here) and turned the puck over leading to Dube's winner in overtime.

📈 William Nylander tallies two goals and two assists in the 2nd period of the Leafs' 5-2 defeat of the Islanders. Nylander tied the game at 1-1 just over 5 minutes into the second before setting up John Tavares for his 21st, sending Calle Jarnkrok on a breakaway with a beautiful flip pass (watch here), and finishing the period with his team-leading 26th goal of the season to put the Leafs up 4-2. The 26-year-old forward's 56 points ties him for the team lead with Mitch Marner, who had his 20 game home point streak snapped last night.

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