SABRESPACE

‘After clunkers in Vegas and San Jose, the Sabres could pump their chests out and feel good again after what Eichel correctly rated as easily their best all-around game of the season. They’re 4-4 on the season and 2-2 on this daunting road trip, which ends Sunday in Anaheim.’

‘The Sabres had 17 shot blocks in the game. Rasmus Ristolainen blocked all four of his in the first period as the Sabres stopped 10 in the opening 20 minutes. Ristolainen played a game-high 26 minutes, 17 seconds.’

‘”We’re trying to create a spark for sure,” said veteran winger Jason Pominville, who joined Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner on the top line and moved on to a power-play unit. “We haven’t created or scored enough at 5-on-5 so you switch things around, try to find new combinations. It’s going to happen and it’s probably going to happen again throughout the year. Hopefully we can find chemistry quick and get going.”‘

‘”We want him to continue to try to improve his ability to score, finish offensively and not give up the detail in his game and he hasn’t,” said Kings coach John Stevens. “He’s a guy starting to get some special teams opportunities. We like the detail in his game. We like the motor that he plays with. He was definitely a pleasant surprise last year. He was a big part of our team last year and is again this year.”‘

‘The Sabres gave up two power-play goals in a 27-second span early in the first period Thursday night and a third one midway through the third. They were a disheveled mess while going 0 for 5 on their own man advantage chances.’