Paul Gaustad saw the plays coming when he was off the ice. Now that he’s back on, he’s creating them.

Gaustad was bummed last month when a shoulder separation forced him to miss six games. The Buffalo Sabres forward already had spent two stints on the injured list, and a third time with the season rapidly ending was too much.

As it turns out, the nights in the press box may have helped.

Gaustad was more than a casual observer sitting high above the ice surface. He would talk about what was going to happen, including a shout of “Back door! Back door!” seconds before an opponent scored on a cross-ice pass at the crease.

He returned eight games ago, and it’s almost as if he’s playing at ice level but still seeing the game from the rooftop. He has points in six of the eight contests, and he’s repeatedly in the mix of scoring chances and vital plays.

Gaustad has three goals and four assists during the run, which has a chance to continue Tuesday when the Sabres visit the Philadelphia Flyers.

“You try to take from injuries what you can,” Gaustad said. “You try to learn from them. I think I learned from my last hit that injured my shoulder, a better technique for hitting. Just watching the play develop and then getting into game speed, I think anything you can do to make that transition from being injured to healthy is huge.”

It’s not much of a surprise Gaustad spent his injury time studying. The 26-year-old is usually the first player at the rink when healthy, going over video to help him improve in his fourth full season.

“They are some players that really pay attention when they’re not playing,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “There are some other players that don’t pay that much attention to detail. I think Paul is a detail guy, detail in a lot of situations, from faceoffs to the way the team’s playing, the team system. You get more out of some guys, and he’s one of the guys you get more out of.”

Gaustad, as expected, preferred to look at the team’s play rather than his own while discussing the recent stretch. He usually takes that “aw shucks” approach, says he’s just trying to help the team win and it’s good to chip in a point now and then.

The last eight games have shown the 6-foot-5 forward can do more than just chip in. He can produce regularly.

“He’s definitely capable of doing it,” Sabres right wing Jason Pominville said. “He’s always been real solid defensively. He’s good down low. He uses his size well, and that will open things up for him and other players. Once you get pucks deep with him, you know he can make things happen down low.

“He’s definitely helping us in a lot of areas.”

Gaustad’s specialty is his play around the net. Two of the recent goals came on deflections as he created space near the crease on the power play. But the other goal is the one that had folks chatting last week, the one that showed a different side of his abilities.

Gaustad and Montreal defenseman Mathieu Schneider went for a loose puck just outside the Buffalo blue line, and it was like a Corvette racing a tricycle. Gaustad blew by Schneider for a breakaway goal, leaving many to gasp they had no idea the Goose could fly like that.

“The situation was that I was already moving toward the puck and he was standing still,” Gaustad said. “That happens. I’m sure if it was the opposite, he would have blown by me, too. . . . You don’t get too many of those.

“Some things bounce your way points wise. I’m just really focused on how the team’s doing, to be honest.”

The Sabres are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference after going 2-1 this weekend. They are three points out of eighth place with 16 games to play.

“You look at the [standings] board over there [in the HSBC Arena dressing room], and we see it every day,” Gaustad said. “We’ve got to climb up.”