The Buffalo Sabres entered the Christmas Break with a seven-game win streak and were looking to extend it against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. This was a team that the Sabres had trouble with earlier in the season, as Boston won the first two but that was back in October.

Entering this game, the Bruins had lost their last four, so it felt like two teams heading in opposite directions. However, this game started like the first two meetings did, as Boston was able to score first and took a 1-0 lead into the second period.

The Sabres found a different gear in the second as they would score three straight in the period in a little over six minutes. That was all they needed, as the Bruins never really managed to control the flow and threaten in the offensive zone, outside of a late power play in the third period.

It wouldn’t amount to anything and Josh Norris scored an empty-net goal to secure the 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins.

These are some of the top takeaways from the Sabres eight-straight win of the season.

Mattias Samuelsson does a job filling the void left by Rasmus Dahlin’s absence

The Buffalo Sabres knew coming into the game that they were going to be without their top defenseman against the Bruins, as Rasmus Dahlin had yet to return from Sweden after being with his fiancée. He is a big part of this team, and the Sabres have not had much success without Dahlin, as they lost three games earlier this season when he was not in the lineup.

However, in this game, Mattias Samuelsson did a great job stepping up and delivering for this team with a three-point game for the first time in the NHL, with all points in the second period. He finished the game with one goal and two assists and continues his career season with six goals and 12 assists already.

Mattias Samuelsson had plenty of questions entering the season but he has responded in a big way. He has been the team’s most consistent defenseman this season and this is just another example of what he brings to the team.

Owen Power and Michael Kesselring have their best game together

The Buffalo Sabres have been waiting all season for this type of game from Owen Power and Michael Kesselring. It is certainly frustrating that it took almost half of the season but Kesselring has been dealing with injuries, and these two haven’t had much ice time together.

On Saturday, Power and Kesselring had over 13 minutes of ice time together, and these two were on the ice for seven scoring chances compared to only three scoring chances against. The high danger chances were even more heavily in the Sabres’ favor at 5 for compared to only one against.

If these two can continue to play at this level, the JJ Peterka trade gets only better for the Sabres with how well Josh Doan has played this season.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen delivers another stellar home-ice performance

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made only his second start since December 8th, but for the second straight game, he delivered a strong performance in net. He finished the game allowing only one goal on 22 shots and made some nice saves down the stretch to help the Sabres keep and build their lead.

Luukkonen has been great playing at KeyBank Center this season and entering this game was 4-1 with a save percentage of .921 and a goals against average of 1.97.

The NHL roster freeze ends tonight, and the Sabres probably want to move quickly to trade one of their goalies. Unfortunately, with the strong performances by Luukkonen and Alex Lyon, along with what Colten Ellis has shown this season, there might not be a clear answer on who the goalie is they move.

KeyBank Center hasn’t sounded like that in a very long time

It has been a while since there has been this much excitement around the Buffalo Sabres, but with the change at general manager and the seven-game win streak, fans came back in a big way for this game. The team announced before the game that this would be their fifth sellout of the season, and the fans made their presence known.

During some of the Sabres’ best seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Buffalo was a tough place to play. If they continue winning like this, the Sabres, with the help of the fans, can get some of that back.