Anaheim, Calif. (WGR Sports Radio 550/WBEN) - Emotions were like a roller coaster for the Buffalo Sabres tonight, whose four-game road trip came to a close at Honda Center against the Anaheim Ducks.
A wild third period ended up solving nothing, but overtime did as Anaheim held on to take down the blue and gold on Sunday evening.
The Sabres vaulted out in front just 3:36 into the first period. Owen Power activated himself after Peyton Krebs tossed a puck in deep. From behind the net, Power's centering pass was rammed home by Alex Tuch for a 1-0 lead.
Anaheim then flipped the script on the Sabres in the middle portion of the opening frame. A couple of powerplay goals suddenly had the blue and gold looking up at the Ducks, trailing 2-1. Forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Jackson LaCombe did the scoring for the home side.
Josh Doan had an answer with 2:46 left in the first, though, and tied things up just ahead of intermission. A beauty of a feed from Noah Ostlund allowed Doan to roof his 23rd goal of the season on his off-wing.
What was once a 2-2 tie turned into a 4-2 hockey game by second period's end. Both goals belonged to Anaheim; one early, and one late.
Rookie forward Bennett Sennecke potted his 21st goal of the season to make it 3-2 just 2:35 in, while later on veteran forward Troy Terry was allowed to waltz right in on Alex Lyon from the right face-off circle and buried his 15th goal to double the Ducks' lead to two.
Relative to the rest of the road trip, that second period was arguably the most adversity the Sabres had faced in over a week.
The team responded with three unanswered goals, as they found another gear at the end of a taxing road trip and flipped the script on a Ducks team that had hopes of cruising to a Sunday night victory.
Getting the party started was Jack Quinn, whose 17th goal of the season came with 4:40 gone in the third period of play, and pulled the blue and gold within one at 4-3.
Following suit at the halfway point was Owen Power, who scored the game-tying goal right after a face-off win from Ryan McLeod.
The icing on the cake was a stellar effort from the fourth line. Under the circumstances, the gear with which the team was able to find was admirable. Zach Benson found himself in front, and hammered the puck home to make it a 5-4 Sabres lead with 8:23 to go in the game.
Unfortunately, the emotional high came crashing down with 1:44 left in the contest. On yet another powerplay, the Ducks converted and evened the score at five goals apiece.
Veteran forward Mikael Granlund did the damage, and eventually sent a wild game into overtime.
In the extra frame, it was the Ducks who got the last laugh. Terry stripped Tage Thompson of the puck in the neutral zone, and created his own breakaway chance. Terry did not miss, and beat Lyon with a backhand to drop the curtain on the Sabres by way of a 6-5 final.
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SCORING RECAP:
First Period:
BUF: 3:36 - Alex Tuch (29) (Owen Power, Peyton Krebs); 17:14 - Josh Doan (23) (Noah Ostlund, Bowen Byram)
ANA: 9:27 - Chris Kreider (22) PPG (Leo Carlsson); 12:23 - Jackson LaCombe (9) PPG (Mason McTavish, Bennett Sennecke)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
ANA: 2:35 - Bennett Sennecke (21) (Jackson LaCombe); 15:40 - Troy Terry (15) (Tim Washe, Olen Zellweger)
Third Period:
BUF: 4:40 - Jack Quinn (17) (Rasmus Dahlin, Zach Benson); 10:05 - Owen Power (8) (Ryan McLeod); 11:37 - Zach Benson (9) (Rasmus Dahlin, Beck Malenstyn)
ANA: 18:16 - Mikael Granlund (14) PPG (Chris Kreider, Leo Carlsson)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
ANA: 1:29 - Troy Terry (16) OT-GWG (Unassisted)
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Bluestar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Tory Terry - ANA
2.) Mikael Granlund - ANA
3.) Zach Benson - BUF
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What's Next:
The blue and gold come home, with much-needed rest in-between, to host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night, March 25. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on a radio-only call. If you look for the game on television, check out TNT.