Eighteen months can be a very long time in football – especially if you are still a teenager. After a mixed start to life in north London, Archie Gray could not have picked a better occasion to score his first Tottenham goal since joining from Leeds in the summer of 2024 than his 60th appearance. With Thomas Frank already showing signs of not being the first Spurs manager to have been overwhelmed by expectations after a run of just one win in their previous eight Premier League matches, Gray’s scrappy header in the first half ensured that a topsy-turvy year ended with a victory that lifts his side to within one point of Crystal Palace in the table.
Of the 20 goals that Oliver Glasner’s side have conceded this season in the league, 12 have come from set-pieces and Palace have now failed to win any of their last five matches as a packed schedule has finally caught up with them. But this was all about Gray as the 19-year-old midfielder who left the pitch to a standing ovation and big hug from Frank after becoming the youngest Englishman to score for Tottenham in the Premier League since a certain Dele Alli in January 2016.
Nick Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-3 against Aryna Sabalenka in an intriguing Dubai contest with celebrity interruptions
Nick Kyrgios won tennis’s latest Battle of the Sexes against Aryna Sabalenka in a dispiriting contest in Dubai that veered uneasily between exhibition, gimmick and outright circus.
The Australian, who has won only one competitive singles match since the end of 2022 and has slipped to 671 in the world rankings, was sweating heavily and breathing hard as early as the fifth game of the match. Yet to no one’s great surprise, the extreme power of his serve, combined with the spin and velocity of his groundstrokes, proved too much for the women’s No 1 player.
The Ottawa Senators’ 7–5 loss in Toronto on Saturday night won’t go down as the greatest game ever played in the Battle of Ontario, but it was certainly entertaining. Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist for Toronto, which snapped a five-game losing slide against the Sens.
Neither team seemed to be at their best, which isn’t uncommon following a three-day holiday break when players are completely off skates and – how shall I put this? – their standard nutritional intake is ignored.
In a lot of ways, the game resembled a holiday skate on the ODR, with loads of goal scoring and only a passing interest in defence.
The Senators’ penalty kill proved to be the perfect tonic for Toronto’s 32nd-ranked power play, which went to work early to give the Leafs a 2–0 lead by way of William Nylander, who would later leave the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Knies got into the act with a snapshot from the bumper position on a nice pass by Max Domi, who finished the night with three assists.
But the Senators fought back to tie the game.
Nick Cousins tucked home his sixth of the year with under three minutes left in the period to make it 2–1. Then, 18 seconds into the middle frame, Ridly Greig charged to the net with the puck with Leafs defenceman Philippe Myers all over him. Greig managed to get the puck to the net, but Myers ended up plowing Greig, the puck, and Leafs goalie Joseph Woll into the Toronto net.
After review, it was determined that Myers was the one responsible for putting the puck into the Leafs’ net, and the goal stood.
With the score now tied and the ship apparently righted, the Sens began taking on water again after Linus Ullmark let in a pair of goals that head coach Travis Green admitted after the game he didn't like.
The first restored Toronto's lead when a slow-moving puck trickled through Ullmark's legs and sat exposed near the goal line. Bobby McMann whacked it into the vacant net. On the next one, Ullmark gave up a big rebound, which fell right to Auston Matthews, who was standing near the crease right beside Thomas Chabot. Let completely untouched, Matthews crammed in the rebound for one of the easiest goals of his career, which would be the end of Ullmark’s night.
He certainly wasn’t good on Saturday, allowing four goals on 14 shots, but he didn’t get much help either. Backup Leevi Merilainen was scored on with the first shot he faced from Nicholas Robertson.
Down 5-2, the Senators came out and made a game of it in the third.
Drake Batherson scored 14 seconds in, taking a pass from Dylan Cozens in the slot and roofing a beauty over the top of Woll. Tim Stützle then made it 5–4 just over five minutes into the third, cutting into the slot and ripping a wrist shot that Woll got a big piece of, but not enough to stop it from going in.
That momentum didn’t last even a minute, as Knies scored his second of the game to put Toronto back up 6–4.
Jordan Spence made it 6–5 when his wrist shot hit Claude Giroux on the skate, which stung the veteran, but the puck bounced right back to Spence, who had all kinds of room to reload and shoot to make it 6–5.
Giroux, despite the bruise, ended up with two assists in his 1,300th NHL game.
Ottawa continued to push in the late going, but John Tavares put it away with an empty-net goal with 1:16 to play.
Now that the Sens have shaken off the eggnog, they’ll be back home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night to kick off a four-game homestand that take them into 2026 and finish off the first half of their regular season.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News Ottawa
Read more Ottawa Senators news and features at The Hockey News:
Steve Warne is the Ottawa Senators site editor at The Hockey News. Steve has covered the Senators since day one, first as Sports Director for Rogers Radio in Ottawa on AM 1310 and FM 105, then as the long-time host of the morning show at TSN 1200 radio, the Sens' flagship station. Steve is also the owner and host of TheSens Nation Podcast.
Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier (61), center Mason McTavish (23), right wing Beckett Sennecke (45), defenseman Olen Zellweger (51), and right wing Frank Vatrano (77) celebrate after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 7 at Honda Center. (Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
R.J. Prewitt has been a Ducks fan since the first puck dropped in Anaheim, so he’s known good times and bad.
He was there when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2007, for example, and when it took another final to a seventh game four seasons earlier. But he was also there through each of the last seven seasons, when the Ducks never placed higher than sixth in the Pacific Division and finished a combined 74 games under .500.
“It's my team,” said Prewitt, wearing a white-and-orange Ducks’ sweater as he waited to enter the Crypto.com Arena for Saturday night’s game with the Kings. “I'm going to have faith no matter what.”
That faith is getting another stern test this month. Because after entering December atop the division standings for the first time in more than a decade, the Ducks have lost six of their last eight, with the most ignominious loss coming Saturday in a 6-1 thrashing by their neighborhood rivals and winger Alex Laferriere, who got his first career hat trick.
Ducks left wing Alex Killorn skates with the puck during a loss to Kings Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Katie Chin / Associated Press)
For the Kings, the season-high six goals comes at the end of a slide that had seen them lose six of their last seven, averaging less than two goals a game over that stretch.
Laferriere scored more than that by himself Saturday.
The Kings’ first two goals, from Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore, came in the first four minutes. Laferriere got his first midway through the first period and when Quinton Byfield scored on a power play just before the intermission, the Kings took a 4-0 lead into the locker room at the break.
For the Ducks, who have been plagued by slow starts — 11 of their 21 wins came in games in which they trailed; only the Philadelphia Flyers have more — that deficit was too much to overcome.
“That’s unacceptable,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “You’re not going to make the playoffs being at that level. So we’ve got to make sure that we recapture that feeling of what it takes to be consistent.”
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville yells instructions to his players during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 19. (Paul Beaty / Associated Press)
Yet despite Saturday’s loss, the Ducks and their fans still have a lot of positives to celebrate — especially given the team’s recent history.
The Ducks’ 21 wins are still most in the division; they didn’t get their 21st win until Jan. 28th last season. And their 130 goals through 38 games — an average of nearly 3 ½ a night — rank fourth in the NHL. They were in the bottom three in scoring in each of the last three seasons.
But what had been the most remarkable turnaround in the league through the first three months has suddenly hit a rough patch, challenging the narrative that new coach Quenneville had finally taken the team from pretenders to contenders.
“Well, we’ve got to prove it,” Quenneville said after Saturday’s humiliation, the Ducks’ most lopsided loss of the season. “We can talk about [how] we want to be a harder-working team this season. But the game tonight didn’t indicate that at all.
“The tenaciousness and the relentless has to go be part of our identity. But we can’t talk about it. We’ve got to prove that.”
Quenneville has been here before. In 2008, he took over a young Chicago Blackhawks team that hadn’t been to the playoffs in five seasons and guided it to the conference finals. A year later, it won the Stanley Cup.
Then in 2019, he took over a young Florida Panthers’ team and led it to the franchise’s first playoff appearance in three seasons.
Both teams had to learn to win, had to believe they could win, before they actually did so. Now Quenneville’s young Ducklings are having their beliefs tested by their worst eight-game stretch of the season.
“I’ve never been on a winning-record team in the NHL. And I’m not the only guy,” said 22-year-old center Mason McTavish, one of six Ducks younger than 23. “It’s a learning curve for sure.
“But at the same time we know how good we are. And this last six, eight games, it’s not been up to our standard. We’ve taken a huge step this year. But that’s not our end goal. We want to make the playoffs. We want to win the Stanley Cup.”
The Ducks will have to become a lot more consistent to have a chance to make that happen. Because while they’re one of the league’s top scoring teams, only the St. Louis Blues have allowed more goals than the Ducks, who have a minus-2 goal differential. And they’ve been outscored 34-19 in their last eight games.
The slump, then, is looming as a test of character and resolve. At a similar point in Quenneville’s first season in Chicago, the Blackhawks lost five times in an eight-game stretch. But they rebounded by winning nine of their next 12 and never looked back.
McTavish, who had his team’s only goal Saturday, said the Ducks have to do the same thing if they hope to show the playoffs are now a realistic goal for a franchise that hasn’t had a winning record in seven seasons.
Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal is congratulated by Nikita Nesterenko and Mason McTavish after blocking a shot by Panthers center Evan Rodrigues to win during a shootout on Oct. 28 in Sunrise, Fla. (Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
“We have to come out the next game and really prove to ourselves that we can play with the top teams in the league,” he said. “And beat them.”
The Ducks long-suffering supporters are also ready for the pain of the last seven seasons to ease.
“Yes, yes, yes. I believe,” said Daniel Núñez of Bakersfield who, like Prewitt, has been a fan from the first season. “We have a good shot, I think, to win the Pacific Division. We have a really good team.”
“Whatever they're doing,” Prewitt agreed “I'm there with them.”
The Sixers could not put together two competitive halves Sunday afternoon against the defending champions.
The Thunder pulled away at Paycom Center to earn a 129-104 win and improve to 27-5 on the season. The Sixers fell to 16-14.
Tyrese Maxey had 28 points and five assists.
OKC’s leading scorers were Chet Holmgren with 29 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 27.
The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (right ankle sprain and right knee injury management), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain).
The third stop on the Sixers’ five-game road trip is Memphis, where they’ll play the Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Thunder:
Thunder scorching from the start
Oklahoma City made its first nine field goals.
The Sixers’ defense was not at its finest and the Thunder’s offensive execution was razor-sharp after two straight losses to the Spurs. Jalen Williams beat Paul George on a backdoor cut and laid the ball in. Holmgren scored twice over Dominick Barlow in the post and jammed in an unguarded fast-break dunk.
In his first career game against the Thunder, VJ Edgecombe defended the reigning MVP. He had a solid start against Gilgeous-Alexander, ceding no cheap fouls, but OKC’s superstar guard is essentially impossible to shut down. Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored over 20 points in 103 consecutive games. The longest streak in NBA history is Wilt Chamberlain’s 126 straight games.
OKC did commit seven turnovers in the first quarter and the Sixers avoided any immediate blowout concerns. A Quentin Grimes three-pointer late in the first gave the Sixers their first lead at 25-24.
Maxey back on his A-game in first half
Maxey scored nine points in the first few minutes, including a soft scoop shot and a deep jumper.
He never cooled off in the first half and continued to drive effectively into the heart of the Thunder’s defense. Maxey began 6 for for 6 from the floor and posted 15 of the Sixers’ 29 points in the opening period. He only missed two field goals in the first half on his way to 23 points.
While there was nothing lucky about Maxey’s shotmaking in Oklahoma City, he was also due for some kind bounces. He’d had subpar shooting nights in the Sixers’ losses to the Nets and Bulls, going 31.6 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range over those two games.
The Sixers’ offense relied on Maxey, although the team’s bench did provide much better production than in Friday’s defeat to Chicago.
Adem Bona had eight points, two blocks and two rebounds in an extended first stint. Justin Edwards knocked down a three as soon as he touched the ball. Jared McCain leaked out ahead of the pack for a layup and Edwards then sunk his third triple of the second quarter to put the Sixers up 58-57. They trailed by two points at intermission.
Best vs. worst in third quarter
OKC’s defense focused more on bothering Maxey after halftime and he didn’t score in the second half until a technical free throw with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter.
Unsurprisingly, Maxey’s lack of scoring coincided with the Thunder’s lead growing. Gilgeous-Alexander’s driving layup capped an 11-0 run and built OKC’s advantage to 86-73.
Neither Edgecombe (10 points on 3-for-16 shooting) nor George (12 points on 4-for-11 shooting) had the sort of efficient performances necessary to pick up Maxey’s slack after halftime.
The Sixers moved to a zone defense late in the third quarter. They weren’t able to stick with it for long, since the Thunder dissected the zone very well. OKC passed 100 points before the end of the third and the NBA’s worst third-quarter team thus far (minus-21.4 net rating entering Sunday) lost the frame by 14 points.
It just so happens that Oklahoma City is the league’s best third-quarter team. For the Sixers, Sunday’s fourth quarter was soon a hopeless cause.
The Florida Panthers received a late Christmas gift when they held their first post-holiday break practice on Sunday.
As the team trickled out of the locker room at the Baptist Health IcePlex in their usual blue, white and red jerseys, there was one eye-catching outlier.
Skating in a Panthers practice for the first time since last year’s playoffs was forward Matthew Tkachuk.
After helping Florida win their second straight Stanley Cup back in June, Tkachuk underwent offseason surgery on a torn adductor and sports hernia that he’d been playing through for several months.
Now, after spending much of the time since recovering and building up the strength needed to resume his ascending NHL career as one of the league’s premier power forwards, Tkachuk is as close to a return as ever.
Wearing a gold, non-contact jersey, Tkachuk was on the ice with his teammates.
The process from this point will be fun to track as the Panthers enter a very busy and exciting week.
Florida has back-to-back home games coming up on Monday and Tuesday against the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens, respectively.
Then, they’ll have an off day on Wednesday before holding a practice on the ice at loanDepot park Thursday in order to get an idea of what to expect for Friday’s Winter Classic against the New York Rangers.
Will Tkachuk be able to suit up for the big game in the Little Havana ballpark in five days?
Photo caption: Nov 14, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) looks on against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
After snapping their eight-game losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens last Sunday, the Penguins lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Tuesday, their final game before the holiday break. The Penguins and Leafs were tied at three early in the third period before Max Domi walked around Brett Kulak for the game-winning goal. The Leafs added two empty net goals to seal the win.
The Penguins will take on a Blackhawks team that's fresh off a 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. It was a win they really needed since they came into the game on a six-game losing streak.
They'll still be without star forward Connor Bedard on Sunday after getting hurt against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12. Bedard has been fantastic this season and is trying to make the Team Canada Olympic roster, compiling 19 goals and 44 points in 31 games.
Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom started on Saturday, meaning that the Penguins will see Spencer Knight on Sunday. Knight is having an outstanding season, saving 17.8 goals above expected with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Tyler Bertuzzi is second on the Blackhawks in goals with 18 and has 28 points in 34 games. He's on the top line, which is currently being centered by Jason Dickinson.
Arturs Silovs was the first goalie off at the morning skate, and Penguins head coach Dan Muse confirmed to reporters after the skate that Silovs will start in goal.
Blake Lizotte could make his return to the Penguins' lineup after fully practicing on Saturday. He was in his usual spot on the fourth line with Connor Dewar and Noel Acciari and has missed the last nine games with an injury.
Here's how the rest of the practice lines looked:
Forwards
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Mantha-Novak-Brazeau
McGroarty-Kindel-Koivunen
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Kulak-Letang
Shea-St. Ivany
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
During the 2025 NHL off-season, the Buffalo Sabres signed defenseman Zac Jones to a one-year, two-way contract. This was after Jones posted one goal and 11 points in 46 games with the New York Rangers during the 2024-25 season.
Overall, signing Jones was one of the Sabres' smaller moves of the summer, but there is no question that the left-shot defenseman has been making a big impact in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Rochester Americans.
In 25 games so far this season with Rochester, Jones has posted two goals and an AHL-leading 27 assists. The Glen Allen, Virginia native also currently leads the Amerks in points with 29, so there is no question that he is having a strong season with the AHL club.
While Jones has yet to make his regular-season debut with the Sabres this season, he is providing Rochester with plenty of value. The 25-year-old blueliner is helping create offense for the AHL club, and the Sabres' prospects are benefiting from it.
If Jones continues to produce strong offense from the point for Rochester, perhaps it could open the door for him to get a chance on Buffalo's roster before the season is over. This is especially so if the Sabres end up getting bit by the injury bug as the campaign rolls on.
In 115 career NHL games over five seasons, Jones has recorded four goals, 24 assists, and 28 points.
Steve Kerr knows what advice he’d give his younger self when starting his Warriors coaching career in 2014.
The 60-year-old shared his hilarious answer with reporters on Sunday before Golden State’s 141-127 overtime loss against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
“Just coach Steph Curry if you get a chance,” Kerr said. “Stay with that guy. I followed my own advice on that one.”
Kerr has spent his entire 12-year coaching career with Curry and the Warriors, and has enjoyed working with the sharpshooter to form the team’s iconic dynasty, which won four NBA championships and reached six finals between 2014-15 and 2021-22.
The coach-guard duo also has dominated internationally, winning gold together at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics for an iconic Team USA men’s basketball squad.
Kerr is grateful to have won a lot alongside Curry. He, too, has enjoyed shaping Golden State’s offensive identity around the 11-time NBA All-Star’s 3-point shooting prowess.
“It’s a good question,” Kerr said. “It’s funny because I came in that year (2014-15), and we played a little differently than a lot of teams and everybody said we were really innovative.
“It didn’t feel innovative to me because it was things I already learned with Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich. If anything, some of the stuff we were doing, I went back 30, 20 years to bring back. Today, we are sort of doing the opposite. We’re following other trends around the league.”
As he implied, Kerr carries several lessons he learned as a player who won five NBA titles over 15 seasons alongside other basketball legends into his coaching efforts with the Warriors.
While Kerr wisely would tell his younger self to stay attached to Curry — as he already has — the coach also would suggest being as adaptable as possible.
“I think what I’ve learned is that the league is constantly changing,” Kerr said. “And as a coach, you have to constantly be aware of what’s happening. Best example of that is two years ago, you wouldn’t have ever been able to convince me that we should crash on offensive rebounds. Now I know differently. It took our younger coaches to bring that suggestion to me. It took watching film. It took experimenting.
“So even having that conversation, 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have entertained it. So what I’ve learned 10 years into my coaching career, having been a part of championship teams, great teams, I’m learning something I never knew before. I think that’s just the case forever. Life’s always changing. Things are always changing. The game is always changing. You have to be a lifelong learner and you have to embrace everything that’s happening.”
Kerr’s journey with Curry isn’t over yet.
But even before knowing how the story ends, Kerr would tell his younger self to stay with the game’s greatest shooter of all time for the long haul.
With a chance at having their first four-game win streak of the season, the Warriors on Sunday gifted the Toronto Raptors a 141-127 overtime win three days after Christmas.
Steph Curry’s latest breathtaking show again couldn’t end in a Warriors win. Curry scored 39 points, giving himself 10 games of 30-plus points this season. The Warriors now are 4-6 when he scores at least 30 points this season.
The rest of the Warriors’ Big Three also did their part. Jimmy Butler tallied 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Draymond Green gave them 21 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
But the Raptors had three players who finished with more than 20 points, and seven in double figures, including their entire starting five.
A handful of issues undid the Warriors in a frustrating loss. The Warriors were outrebounded 55 to 42, and forward Scottie Barnes came down with 25 rebounds by himself. The Raptors scored 29 points off 18 offensive rebounds.
More than anything, though, the Warriors were bitten by their constant penchant for turnovers. In the end, the Warriors lost the turnover battle 21-15, turning into 35 points for the Raptors. The Warriors now are 4-13 when they have more turnovers than their opponent, while being 12-3 when having fewer or equal turnovers.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ three-game losing streak coming to an end.
Year 17 In The 6
There were two road games Curry circled before last season: Charlotte and Toronto. Curry matched how many seasons in the NBA his father, Dell, played last year and the two cities hold sentimental value for different family reasons. Charlotte is home to Curry, where Dell spent 10 of his 16 seasons in the league. But his final three, which Steph remembers best, were north of the border with the Raptors.
Now that Curry officially has passed his father’s time spent in the NBA, he gets to play two of his final three games of 2025 in those two special road arenas, starting with Sunday’s (loss or win) in Toronto. And Curry right away added to a never-ending highlight reel in the first quarter.
Curry’s shot-making ability and gravitational pull brought him to 15 points at halftime while going a perfect 5 of 5 at the free-throw line. The Warriors’ first points of the second half then came from a four-point play by Curry, putting them from down one to ahead by three.
The second half was more reason for all of North America to always watch Curry. After 15 first-half points, Curry exploded for 24 points in the second half – 14 in the third and 10 in the second. He made all 11 of his free throws on the night for his second game of 10 or more free throw attempts this season.
Draymond Brings The Boom Back
Through the first month of the season, Green gave Golden State another threat behind the 3-point line. He was shooting 35.7 percent on threes over 16 games, a number the Warriors will gladly take. Green even made multiple threes in half the games he played (eight) over that month’s long stretch.
But then his accuracy from deep began abandoning him. Green in his last month of nine games played came into Sunday having shot just 26.3 percent (10 of 38) beyond the arc, with teams begging him to let it fly. The Raptors used the same strategy, constantly sagging off him, and Green finally made them pay. He made two threes in the first half to bring him to 10 points, which gave Green just his third double-digit scoring game this month.
Green’s aggressiveness offensively was a major plus for the Warriors. He reached 20 points for the first time this season. But Green also was one of seven Warriors with multiple turnovers.
Troubled By Turnovers
Same story, different day. Another clutch game for the Warriors full of inexcusable turnovers.
The Warriors had a 12-point lead in the final minute of the third quarter when the Raptors then reeled off an 8-0 run behind two free throws and scoring off three straight Warriors turnovers. Right when the Warriors could have put the game away, they let the Raptors off the hook and paid severely for it.
In their final home game of the calendar year, the Warriors had a lowly 11 turnovers for six points against the Dallas Mavericks. Those same fortunes didn’t happen against the Raptors. The Warriors were completely undone by being careless with the ball.
Going into halftime, they were winning the turnover battle by one, six to seven, in which the Raptors had scored 10 points off turnovers. The second half was another story. The Warriors turned the ball over 13 times, six more than Toronto’s seven, and the Raptors took advantage by scoring 23 points off them.
For the 17th time this season, the Warriors found themselves in a clutch game. They’re now 6-11 in such games. The Warriors turned the ball over five times in the clutch of the fourth quarter, and another two more in overtime. The Raptors in that time period didn’t have any turnovers while scoring 11 points off the Warriors’ seven turnovers.
The Buffalo Sabres seemed a big sluggish after the first period of their first game after the Christmas holiday break, but in a second period in which they took control of the game, the unlikely Sabres scoring star was blueliner Mattias Samuelsson, who assisted on goals from Ryan McLeod and Peyton Krebs before scoring a career-high sixth goal of the season in a 4-1 victory at KeyBank Center on Saturday night.
Samuelsson, who had seven career goals in 212 regular season games going into the campaign, is tied with Bowen Byram in defensive scoring with 18 points and has more goals than regular defense partner Rasmus Dahlin, but unlike his teammates, he has been stout at the defensive end of the ice, which is reflected in his team leading +15 plus/minus rating.
"His physicality has been really good this year. I think he ends a lot of plays. He's really on top of his game,"Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "From what he's done, chipping in offensively and the work he just done on the PK, then playing against every top line and big minutes every night, he's really playing a good brand of hockey for us."
Samuelsson’s contribution was necessary with Dahlin still not back from Sweden. The Sabres eighth win in a row has them back to within range of an Eastern Conference playoff spot, as they are tied with the Florida Panthers for the last wildcard spot, but they need to keep winning, as they are only three points from second-last in the conference.
Dahlin is expected to meet the Sabres in St. Louis, where they will take on the Blues in the first of a three-game road trip on Monday.
