Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For 40 minutes on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres were the better team.
It wasn’t Calgary Flames goalie Dan Vladar that was beating them, as they got plenty of chances but hit posts, crossbars and shot the puck wide.
Buffalo built a 2-0 lead, but seemed like they ran out of gas in the third period and got outshot 12-4. The Flames got the game-tying goal with 4:18 left in regulation, but the Sabres found a way to win the game anyway.
Late in overtime, the Sabres got a too many men on the ice penalty and had to finish extra time killing off 1:20 of a penalty. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made some key saves, and the Flames had trouble getting the puck through against Jordan Greenway, Connor Clifton and Owen Power.
Luukkonen was, again, sharp in goal, making many key saves and stopping 24 shots on goal. He’s been getting most of the games, and he’s showing just what he did last season: The more he plays, the more consistent he remains.
That’s not good news for Devon Levi.
It didn’t take long for Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn and Zach Benson to get in on a forecheck and pick up right where they left off on Thursday. Jacob Bryson got a shot off quickly before Calgary could clog the lane, and Benson pounced on the rebound.
Buffalo got a power play, and after two really bad entries that turned the puck over, JJ Peterka entered the zone with blazing speed and put the puck behind the defense, as he blew right by them to retrieve it. Quick passes and movement pulled Calgary out of their structure, and Rasmus Dahlin put a pass right in Tage Thompson’s wheelhouse, and he ripped the one-timer for his 10th goal of the season.
That power play goal gave the Sabres a goal with the extra man in 6-out-of-7 games. They’re 7-for-23 in that time, and when the game was over, were ranked fifth in the NHL during that span at a clip of 30.4%.
Buffalo kept the foot on the gas, but hurt themselves by getting 16 shot attempts blocked and shooting another 16 wide. That made for 51 shot attempts.
In the shootout, it was JJ Peterka who scored, while Luukkonen stopped all three attempts.
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Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff says defenseman Bo Byram seems to be able to skate forever, and can recover quickly. With that in mind, Byram played 32:34, while Dahlin went 28:28.
After his third penalty of the game, Dennis Gilbert got very little ice-time, playing just 10:19.
After going 4-1-1, the Sabres lost three in-a-row, only to win three in-a-row for the second time this year.
Heading into Monday afternoon's matchup with the Montreal Canadiens at home, the Sabres will try for their first four-game winning streak since January 2023 when they actually won five in-a-row.
This is a hump they must get over if they have any hope of climbing the standing and being a playoff contender.