Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres completed a comeback on Thursday night, as Alex Tuch tied the game at 3-3 in the third period, and then Rasmus Dahlin scoring the game-winning tally to complete a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues at KeyBank Center.
The Blues took the early 1-0 lead, as winger Brandon Saad pounced on a turnover in front of the Sabres' net just 3:11 into the game.
Buffalo got its first chance on the power play midway through the first period, and just seconds after the man-advantage expired, Zach Benson slammed the puck through Blues goalie Jordan Binnington from the side of the net to tie the game, 1-1.
Later in the first, Ryan McLeod gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead on a seeing-eye shot from distance and through some traffic in front of Binnington.
After killing off an early penalty in the second period, St. Louis tied the game up as Pavel Buchnevich snapped a shot from the slot past Sabres goalie Devon Levi.
The score remained the same until the final minutes of the second period when Saad scored his second goal of the night, giving the Blues a 3-2 lead heading to the final frame.
Buffalo thought they tied up the game early in the third, as Dylan Cozens slammed home a rebound off of a Dahlin shot from the point. It was initially called a goal on the ice, but the Blues challenged the play for goaltender interference on Benson.
The call on the ice was overturned after a lengthy review, and the score remained 3-2, Blues.
Later in the third, the Sabres managed to get the tying goal that counted this time. Alex Tuch was the beneficiary of a great feed from Ryan McLedon from behind the net, as he scored his fifth goal of the season to even the contest at 3-3.
With about a minute left in regulation, St. Louis was penalized for goaltender interference, and the Sabres were able to hold possession of the puck for the remainder of the time left to take a full two minutes worth of a power play into overtime.
During the 4-on-3 advantage for Buffalo, they moved the puck around, keeping Blues penalty killed active in trying to clear the puck. It took 93 seconds for the Sabres to call game, as Dahlin fired a one-timer from the faceoff circle off a feed from JJ Peterka that beat Binnington for the game-winner.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 7:13 - Zach Benson (3) (Peyton Krebs, Owen Power); 16:49 - Ryan McLeod (5) (Jacob Bryson, Alex Tuch)
STL: 3:11 - Brandon Saad (3) (Brayden Schenn, Colton Parayko)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
STL: 5:25 - Pavel Buchnevich (5) (Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours); 17:15 - Brandon Saad (4) (Brayden Schenn, Dylan Holloway)
Third Period:
BUF: 12:57 - Alex Tuch (5) (Ryan McLeod, Bowen Byram)
STL: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: 1:33 - Rasmus Dahlin (4) PPG (JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn)
STL: NONE
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Ryan McLeod - BUF
2.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
3.) Alex Tuch - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres head out on a four-game road trip, starting on Saturday night with a stop in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Faceoff from Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m. EST, and can be heard on WGR Sports Radio 550 with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.