When Housley took over as coach prior to last season, it was expected that offense from the blue line would be a hallmark of the Sabres' game. Housley coached a prolific defense in Nashville and was dynamic on the back end during his own Hall of Fame career.
It took until Dec. 5 of last season for a Sabres defenseman to find the back of the net, but this year has been a different story. The Sabres have six goals from six different defensemen, tied for fifth in the NHL. Ottawa leads the league with 10 goals by defensemen.
"[We're] just executing better," McCabe said. "Everyone's contributing on the back end, everyone can skate well on the back end, no matter who's playing that night. We're all playing good minutes and everyone's getting in the game."
It's not as if all their goals are coming off the rush. McCabe scored from the half-wall, as did Zach Bogosian. Nathan Beaulieu, Rasmus Ristolainen and Marco Scandella all scored on shots from the point. Rasmus Dahlin crashed the net and buried a rebound.
"I think a lot of this has to do with the forwards going to the net front and taking the goalie's eyes away," Housley said. "But I like the way they've added to the rush. They've complemented our rush game out of the offensive zone."
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