Game 58: The return and necessity of Owen Power

The Buffalo Sabres defenseman returned after a six-game absence due to injury. All he did was score the game-tying goal on the way to a 3-2 shootout win against Carolina.

Owen Power speaking with media in October after signing his seven-year extension with the Sabres. (Photo: Joe Yerdon)

BUFFALO — We haven’t yet gotten to see the very best of Owen Power in a Buffalo Sabres uniform, but we’ve gotten to see how much their defensive unit misses him when he’s out of action due to injury.

What we saw Sunday night in the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Power’s return to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury was some of the very best of what he’s capable of.

“(Power was) incredible, I thought he was great,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “He played 20-plus minutes, scored a goal, but he was really good all the way through. Sometimes when a guy’s out, you don’t see him, and you miss him. I can tell you, on the bench, there were lots of moments where you’re like, ‘Oof, is it nice to have him in the lineup.’”

In a game where there were more than a few fantastic performances from the Sabres (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs, Jeff Skinner), it’s hard not to look at how Power played in his return and how important he is to the lineup and the future of the Sabres.

Now that the Sabres are, at last, on an actual winning streak with their third straight victory, let’s dig into what helped make it happen against Carolina.