Calgary, Alberta (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Another chapter in another frustrating season was authored by the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
Coming off a win in Vancouver two nights ago, the Sabres let a 2-1 second-period lead slip away in a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Calgary opened the scoring 12-minutes into the first period, and did so while working shorthanded.
With the Sabres working on a man advantage, Rasmus Dahlin wasn't able to corral a clearing attempt by the Flames. The puck slid off his stick towards center ice, where Jonathan Huberdeau was lurking. The forward seized the opportunity, and skated the puck in alone before he beat goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen through the five-hole to make it 1-0.
Despite entering the second period still trailing by that goal, the Sabres wasted little time upping the pressure on Flames goalie Dustin Wolf.
Just 2:50 into the stanza, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson was rewarded for Buffalo, as his point shot deflected off Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson to tie the game at 1-1.
Less than five minutes later, the Sabres claimed their first lead of the night.
Samuelsson's productive night continued, as this time, his shot turned into an assist when Tage Thompson deflected the go-ahead goal in front of the Calgary net.
The Flames answered near the halfway point of the period, though. It was a goal Luukkonen would surely like back, as Nazem Kadri's shot trickled ever so lightly beyond the goal line to make it a 2-2 game.
The back-and-forth nature continued in favor of the Flames just three-and-a-half minutes into the third period.
Forward Jakob Pelletier was the beneficiary of a bounding puck. Though he was responsible for the deflection in front of Luukkonen, the puck found the back of the net off the skate of Sabres defenseman Owen Power.
As the late stages of the game flittered by, the Sabres were given a golden opportunity to tie the game again. Kadri took a penalty with just under five minutes to play, and midway through the power play, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff called Luukkonen to the bench to boast the 6-on-4 advantage.
Unfortunately, Ruff's strategy was fruitless. The man advantage expired, and the Flames were able to strike twice more.
The last two goals for the Flames were both of the empty-net variety, as forwards Yegor Sharangovich and Mikael Backlund helped shut the door on any hope of a comeback for the Sabres.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
CGY: 12:00 - Jonathan Huberdeau (19) SHG (Unassisted)
Second Period:
BUF: 2:50 - Mattias Samuelsson (3) (Henri Jokiharju, Sam Lafferty); 7:18 - Tage Thompson (22) (Mattias Samuelsson, JJ Peterka)
CGY: 10:31 - Nazem Kadri (16) (Jonathan Huberdeau, Jakob Pelletier)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
CGY: 3:29 - Jakob Pelletier (4) (Brayden Pachal, Nazem Kadri); 17:15 - Yegor Sharangovich (9) ENG (Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri); 17:52 - Mikael Backlund (10) SHG/ENG (Blake Coleman)
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jakob Pelletier - CGY
2.) Jonathan Huberdeau - CGY
3.) Dustin Wolf - CGY
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What's Next:
The Sabres wrap up its Western Conference road trip in Edmonton against the Oilers on Saturday at Rogers Place. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.