BUFFALO, N.Y. — With Victor Olofsson stuck in the worst stretch of his hockey life, Sabres coach Don Granato went sifting through video. He wanted to find something — anything — that could help Olofsson get back to being a goal scorer.
The winger finally gave his coach a clip to save in his files Tuesday night.
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“He had a smile,” Granato said.
Indeed, after finding the net for the first time since Halloween, Olofsson broke out his happy face. He wasn’t alone.
“I hope someone got video of the whole bench because we were freaking out,” right winger Alex Tuch said.
The bench's reaction to Vic's first goal was everything 🙌#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/Y6wpEWNhXK
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) February 16, 2022
Olofsson picked a nice time to end his 30-game drought, snapping a 3-3 tie with 2:55 to play and catapulting the Sabres to a 6-3 victory over the Islanders. Olofsson also found an empty net with 25.9 seconds left, giving him two goals in three minutes after none in three months.
“It’s been the toughest stretch of my career, for sure,” Olofsson said in KeyBank Center. “Sometimes when you don’t score, it feels like I’m not playing well. But sometimes you look at video and see that maybe it’s not as bad as you think.
“I’ve been doing that a lot lately, and I think that has helped me these last few games.”
After a four-shot outing Sunday in Montreal, Olofsson put five on net against New York. He finally broke through after a nice setup from Peyton Krebs.
Vic Olofsson from Krebs 4-3 #LetsGoBuffalo #Isles pic.twitter.com/ZTljMXA1Hw
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) February 16, 2022
“It was nice,” said Granato, whose deep dive into Olofsson’s video revealed an emotionless player. “I watched a couple goals earlier. It was the Tampa game (Oct. 25), and he had a goal and then an empty-net goal. He didn’t have a smile on his face.
“As I’m trying to watch a little bit more of him and see if we can do what we can to help him out, tonight was nice. He had a big smile on his face for the first time in a while, obviously, and we hope it continues and helps him.”
It made sense that there were few clips of Olofsson smiling during the past few months. He’s a goal scorer who wasn’t scoring. He started his Sabres career with 22 goals in 60 games. He dipped to 13 goals in 56 games last season but wanted to prove it was a fluke. He pounced on pucks at the start of this season, potting five goals in the opening eight games.
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Then he got hurt. An upper-body injury that kept him out for the first half of November lingered … and lingered … and lingered. His elite shot became pedestrian. The only player in NHL history to score his first eight goals on the power play got bumped from the first unit.
The troubles moved from the ice to his head.
“I’ve been overthinking,” Olofsson said. “Especially when I get good chances, I kind of take a second or a thought before I shoot the puck instead of just going on my instincts. That’s been kind of the way it has been, and it was a relief to get one.”
The 26-year-old is one of the quietest players on the team, usually staying close to his best friend and Swedish countryman, Rasmus Asplund. But teammates from all over the globe could see how much the drought weighed on Olofsson.
“Everyone could sense it,” center Tage Thompson said. “One of the things, though, is we’ve got such a tight group and such a good group of guys that when guys are going through slumps or tough times, everyone’s there to support them and pick them up.”
Olofsson needed the support. Before this 30-game stretch, the longest drought of his NHL career was nine games. Nothing could prepare him for a slump that went past November, December and January and into half of February.
Tuch, acquired Nov. 4, had never seen Olofsson score as a teammate.
“Seeing Olie get that goal was huge,” Tuch said. “He’s such a good teammate, and you want guys like that to break through some of those streaks because it happens to everybody.
“To see him get that goal was huge for his confidence. The second one, too, that’s even a bigger deep breath.”
Vic O ENG 6-3 #LetsGoBuffalo #Isles pic.twitter.com/2lJFKglBzy
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) February 16, 2022
Olofsson’s seventh goal put him on pace for 13 this season. He acknowledges setting stats he’d like to reach, and there’s little doubt his objective was higher than 13. After such a long wait to get past five, those numbers will need to be reset.
“Now with that stretch I’ve been through, it’s just get that one goal at a time,” Olofsson said. “When you get one, eventually they’re going to come more. That’s usually how it happens.
“We’ll see.”
(Photo of Victor Olofsson’s teammates celebrating with him during the third period: Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today)
