Denver, Colo. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Leads of 3-0 and 5-3 for the Buffalo Sabres evaporated in the thin Denver air on Thursday night. The Sabres wasted a four-point night from Jason Zucker, which included his third-career hat-trick, in a 6-5 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
Unlike Tuesday's tilt in Dallas against the Stars, the Sabres were able to play from in front of the net, as Buffalo netted the opening goal.
About 13 minutes into the first period while working on a power play, Jack Quinn located Zucker on the doorstep, and the veteran winger directed home his 12th goal of the 2024-25 season.
The goal was also Zucker's team-leading sixth on the man advantage.
Zucker doubled down before the end of the period, adding a saucy assist to the scoresheet four minutes later. He helped on a special goal for defenseman Bowen Byram, who was playing in his first game at Ball Arena since being acquired by the Sabres from the Avalanche last season.
The "Jason Zucker Show" continued into the second period, as the winger stayed red-hot on the night with another power play tally. Tage Thompson found Zucker for a quick re-direct in front to extend the Sabres' lead to 3-0.
With five minutes to play in the middle stanza, the Avalanche got on the scoreboard and pulled to within two. All-world defenseman Cale Makar made magic in the offensive zone, and culminated the play with a top-shelf goal over the left shoulder of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Colorado pulled to within a goal in the early goings of the third, as just 1:05 into the frame, forward Ross Colton made it 3-2, Buffalo.
Zach Benson and the Sabres concocted an immediate response, though, to extend the edge back to two goals.
On a controversial play, in the eyes of Colorado fans in attendance at Ball Arena, Benson was pushed into Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood by forward Parker Kelly. With Wedgewood on the ice injured, Benson wrapped the puck into the net for the Sabres' fourth goal of the night.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar challenged for goaltender interference, but to no avail.
Things naturally got chippy on the ice from that point on, as the physicality upped a couple of levels in the ensuing minutes. The Sabres did themselves no favors either, committing minor penalties just 15 seconds apart at the 3:04 and 3:19 marks of the period.
Forward Mikko Rantanen and the Avalanche made the blue and gold pay for one of those minor infractions, as Colorado, again, pulled closer into the rearview mirror. Rantanen's one-timer gave him his 22nd goal of the season, making it a 4-3 Buffalo lead with still over 15 minutes to play.
In the late stages of regulation, Zucker tried to ice things for Buffalo, as he struck for his third goal of the game to give the Sabres a 5-3 lead.
With 2:26 to play, though, Makar netted his second goal of the contest to cut their deficit to 5-4, as the Avalanche refused to go quietly.
Then with a mere 6.8 seconds to go, Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin tied the game at 5-5 for Colorado off a feed from Nathan MacKinnon, and this game was heading to overtime.
It only took 48 seconds for the Avalanche to complete the comeback.
Defenseman Devon Toews forced a turnover of Thompson inside the Colorado end, broke away for a chance alone on Luukkonen, and scored the game-winning goal to put a wrap on a 6-5 loss for the Sabres.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 13:17 - Jason Zucker (12) PPG (Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson); 17:10 - Bowen Byram (5) (Jason Zucker, Dylan Cozens)
COL: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 11:08 - Jason Zucker (13) PPG (Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin)
COL: 14:58 - Cale Makar (12) (Jonathan Drouin, Devon Toews)
Third Period:
BUF: 1:27 - Zach Benson (7) (Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka); 16:09 - Jason Zucker (14) (Tage Thompson)
COL: 1:05 - Ross Colton (12) (Samuel Girard); 4:17 - Mikko Rantanen (22) PPG (Nathan MacKinnon, Casey Mittelstadt); 17:34 - Cale Makar (13) (Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews); 19:52 - Jonathan Drouin (3) (Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
COL: 0:48 - Devon Toews (3) (Unassisted)
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Devon Toews - COL
2.) Jason Zucker - BUF
3.) Cale Makar - COL
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What's next:
The Sabres wrap their Western Conference road trip in Las Vegas against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Faceoff is set for 10 p.m. EST with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.