The Buffalo Sabres are talking trade as they look to shake up their roster. But Buffalo has found much better luck on the ice. After snapping their 13-game losing streak against the New York Islanders, they picked up another win. And they have forward Alex Tuch to thank for their recent victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Tuch scored his third career hat trick at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Friday night. By the end of the night, the Sabres defeated the Blackhawks by the score of 6-2. Buffalo improves to 13-19-4 on the year, though they remain in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Tuch spoke to the media following his hat trick performance. It was his first hat trick on home ice with the Sabres. It came at a great time too as he hadn't scored at the KeyBank Center in a while. The Sabres forward expressed his relief to finally have scored in front of his home fans.

“It’s awesome,” Tuch said, via NHL.com. “Scoring my first goal in this building [since Nov. 29], that was even a whole monkey off the back, and it felt really good. Doing it in front of the home crowd was that much more special and it was great to get the win in front of them.”

Sabres looking to continue moving forward after latest win

Article Continues Below

Alex Tuch and the Sabres have now won each of their last two games following their brutal losing streak. And they have won these games in decisive fashion. Buffalo has outscored their opponents 13-3 over their last two games.

This has given the team well-deserved confidence. Any losing streak can put a damper on a locker room mood. A losing streak that extensive and that publicized can take the wind out of a team's sails. The Sabres are hoping they can put the brutal run of form behind them and start stringing together wins.

“I think we know where we’ve been at and now, we’d like to turn the corner, turn the page and keep going in this direction,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said, via NHL.com. “I think the focus, we talked about the focus coming out of the Christmas break and you really don’t know what you’re going to get after three days off, but I think they just proved that they were ready to come out and play.”

The Sabres are in fine form finally. And it could not have come at a better time. Buffalo retakes the ice again on Sunday when they travel to take on the St. Louis Blues.