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Sabres have won 10 straight games

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The Buffalo Sabres beat the San Jose Sharks in overtime to win their 10th-straight game in the team's longest winning streak since the 2006-07 season.

Jeff Skinner keeps scoring goals and the Buffalo Sabres keep winning games

Skinner’s overtime tally on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks was not only his 19th goal of the season, it also pushed the Sabres’ current winning streak to 10 games, tying a franchise record.

This latest win pretty much sums up what this streak has been about -- close games, overtime games, and Jeff Skinner goals.
[Related: Sabres on top of PHT Power Rankings]

Some quick facts...


  • It was the ninth game during the streak that was decided by one goal. According to the NHL, this is only the second time in league history a team has won that many one-goal games during a winning streak of 10 games or more. The 2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins are the other.
  • It was the seventh game during the streak that required overtime or a shootout.
  • Skinner has scored 10 of his 19 goals this season during the streak.

The fact the Sabres are winning so many close games and overtime games suggests there is a bit of luck to this this streak, but every lengthy winning streak for every team requires at least some amount of luck. You also can’t take away the wins that already happened and the Sabres are sitting in a pretty good position right now with a 17-6-2 mark through their first 25 games.

Even if they see a bit of a regression the rest of the way they have given themselves a nice cushion when it comes to earning a playoff spot. Keep in mind the eighth playoff team in the Eastern Conference during the 2017-18 season finished with 97 points. Buffalo now only needs 61 points in its remaining 57 games to reach that mark. That is well within reach.

The fact the Sabres are in this position a quarter of the way through the season is a huge development when you consider they had the worst record in the league this past season. But the offseason additions of Skinner, Conor Sheary, starting goalie Carter Hutton, and the arrival of top pick Rasmus Dahlin have all played a huge role in the quick turnaround.

Along with Skinner’s tally, Rasmus Ristolainen scored a highlight reel goal to get the Sabres on the board in the second period, while Hutton stopped 36 of the 38 shots he faced.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.