Mattias Samuelsson emerges as driving force behind Sabres’ late-season surge

The Buffalo Sabres have gone from one of the hottest teams in the NHL over the last two months to 39 points out of 46 possible in their last 23 games, with a record of 30-17-5. Mattias Samuelsson leads the Sabres on this strong run with his emergence, providing an anchor both defensively and offensively as they attempt to end their 14-year playoff drought.So far in this season, Mattias Samuelsson has had a career-defining season by recording 31 total points over 50 games (8 goals and 23 assists) with an NHL-best +27 rating for defenders. His number of points this year is significantly higher than his 43 total points through 212 games, as he’s become an unexpected offensive contributor to his already established, strong defensive game. In addition to his impressive point totals, Samuelsson has appeared in 48 consecutive games. He is on pace to set a personal best in hits with approximately 131 from his current total hits this year.His consistent play has been very beneficial to Buffalo’s fifth-ranked penalty kill, as they started the season slowly but have remained competitive. Furthermore, he has stepped up to perform in the absence of other injured defensemen and has become one of the most important players on the team through his contributions in every circumstance, and is viewed as one of the top candidates for the most improved player award this season.Samuelsson emphasized the importance of remaining aggressive and not getting complacent in the highly competitive Eastern Conference, where a couple of losses can drastically change everything. The young Sabres are growing up this year – they already have 13 comeback wins, which is a huge improvement over last year's abysmal performance; plus, they don't panic when they fall behind early in games. This new mindset represents a significant change from years past, when the group would often fall into long slumps after falling behind early in games. With 30 games remaining on their schedule and currently holding down 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, Buffalo has a real chance of making it to the playoffs and competing well once they do, as long as their leaders (like Samuelsson) continue playing well.