Hopkins' second goal of the game snapped a tie with 11:01 left as the Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers overcame a barrage of Buffalo shots in the final two periods to beat the Sabres, 3-2, Saturday at Rogers Place.

Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka had hat tricks, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves as Buffalo rolled to a 7-2 win over Boston.

A great complimentary piece in Mattias Samuelsson ... On defense, Jacob Bryson, Connor Clifton, and Henri Jokiharju are all solid depth defensemen and get their job done well.

Nashville – Justus Annunen (6-2-0, 2.65 GAA, .914 save %)

Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 15 assists in his last 15 games. Dahlin is two assists away from tying Mike Ramsey for the second-most assists (256) by a Sabres defenseman alltime. Dahlin is one goal away from tying Ramsey for the second-most goals by a defenseman in franchise history (73).

Edmonton – 30-15-3 | 63 points – 2nd place in the Pacific Division Buffalo – James Reimer (1-5-1, 3.05 GAA, .891 save %) Edmonton – Stuart Skinner (18-11-3, 2.71 GAA, .899 save %)

Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. It’s very early days, but sometimes players who have been doubted in the past find a home at a particular club and perhaps that will be the case with Connor ...

Doncaster Rovers 1 Harrogate Town 0 Gary Player may have been a golfer, but "the harder I work, the luckier I get" applies every bit as much to football, and probably life too. Did you know with a ...

On Tuesday, Thompson and Peterka became the first Sabres teammates with hat tricks in the same game since Derek Roy and Drew Stafford on Jan. 18, 2008. They finished the night with plus-six ratings, a feat no Sabres skater had accomplished since Richard Smehlik on Feb. 2, 1998.

‘There’s a lot that goes into that I don’t really think about,” Kozak said after Thursday’s practice at KeyBank Center, reflecting on his recent back-and-forth between rosters. “I just think about playing the best I can, trying to get better every day. Just trying to make those decisions a little tougher.”

Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka had hat tricks, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves as Buffalo rolled to a 7-2 win over Boston.

They’ve done so in recent weeks, primarily to condition the five-man defensive unit to handle late-game pressure. But these recent third-period outcomes have emphasized the need for offensive work at 6-on-5, as well. After practice, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff identified the areas needing improvement.