Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After getting out to a two-goal lead through the first 20 minutes of play, it was quickly erased by the Calgary Flames in the second, as the Buffalo Sabres ended up dropping a 7-2 decision on Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center.
Tage Thompson scored his 35th goal of the season with a one-timer on the power play to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead in the opening period. Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens helped create the goal and earn Buffalo the lead.
Casey Mittelstadt extended the Sabres' lead to 2-0 with a wrist shot from one side of the ice and beat Jacob Markstrom to the far post. The forward's eighth goal of the season came on just the third shot for the team in the game.
The Sabres were credited with just three shots on goal in the period, while Calgary recorded 11 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
From there, things fell apart for the Sabres.
Calgary was able to score back-to-back goals early in the second period to even the score at 2-2. The goals came just 20 seconds apart.
First, Jakob Pelletier was able to score his first career NHL goal to cut the Calgary deficit to 2-1. Then it was Mikael Backlund scoring his 10th goal of the season to even the score.
Western New York native Dennis Gilbert scored just minutes later to give the Flames a 3-2 lead over the Sabres. The defenseman was able to beat goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a shot from the blue line to give the visitors their first lead of the afternoon.
It was a lead the Flames wouldn't squander for the rest of the contest.
Nazem Kadri's tip in the slot was able to find its way through traffic and double Calgary's lead to 4-2 in the second frame. Christopher Tanev took the initial shot that was tipped.
Buffalo was outshot by Calgary, 22-5, in the middle period. The Sabres were credited with just eight shots on goal through 40 minutes.
Just under two minutes into the third period, Tyler Toffoli's 20th goal of the year ballooned Calgary's lead to 5-2. The forward was able to convert on a 2-on-1 pass by Dillon Dube. Toffoli's second goal of the period extended the Flames lead to 6-2.
Dube's third-straight point came as he scored his 13th goal of the season with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. Elias Lindholm and Toffoli assisted on the final goal of the game to give Calgary the 7-2 win.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 7:56 - Tage Thompson (35) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens); 12:34 - Casey Mittelstadt (8) (Victor Olofsson, Tyson Jost)
CGY: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
CGY: 2:17 - Jakob Pelletier (1) (Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau); 2:37 - Mikael Backlund (10) (Blake Coleman, Christopher Tanev); 4:04 - Dennis Gilbert (1) (Dillon Dube, Elias Lindholm); 7:39 - Nazem Kadri (20) (Christopher Tanev, Jonathan Huberdeau)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
CGY: 1:57 - Tyler Toffoli (20) (Dillon Dube, Dennis Gilbert); 13:05 - Tyler Toffoli (21) PPG (Dillon Dube, Jacob Markstrom); 17:11 - Dillon Dube (13) (Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli)
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 3:30 - Peyton Krebs (Embellishment - 2 min.); 16:31 - Kyle Okposo (Hooking - 2 min.)
CGY: 3:30 - Michael Stone (Cross-checking - 2 min.); 6:39 - Brett Richie
(Cross-checking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 15:02 - Jack Quinn (Hooking - 2 min.); 16:19 - Ilya Lyubushkin
(Slashing - 2 min.)
CGY: 5:23 - TEAM (Too many men on the ice - 2 min.); 16:19 - MacKenzie Weegar (Roughing - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 11:11 - Rasmus Dahlin (Interference - 2 min.)
CGY: 13:41 - Milan Lucic (Holding - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Dillon Dube - CGY
2.) Nazem Kadri - CGY
3.) Tyler Toffoli - CGY
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What's next:
The Sabres will embark on a three-game California road trip starting Monday night in Los Angeles against the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Faceoff is set for 10:30 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR with Brian Koziol starting at 9:30 p.m. EST.
