Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres scored first in their home opener, but the Los Angeles Kings were able to score three times in the third period for a 3-1 victory on Thursday night at KeyBank Center.
The Sabres had the first two power play chances of the game, thanks to a pair of early minors against Los Angeles. It resulted in a 5-on-3 man advantage for over a minute, but Buffalo failed to score and the game remained scoreless nearly halfway through the opening period.
Ryan McLeod was awarded a penalty shot on a shorthanded opportunity later in the first period. His chance was stopped by goalie Darcy Kuemper to keep the game scoreless with around seven minutes remaining in the period.
Zach Benson nearly scored right at the end of the period, but slid the puck into an open net just after the first period expired. The play was reviewed and confirmed that the puck went into the net just after the clock hit zeros to end the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Sabres were credited with 13 shots on goal in the first period, while Los Angeles recorded just five shots.
The game's first goal came with just over three minutes remaining in the second period, and came courtesy of a shorthanded chance for the Sabres. Alex Tuch helped create a turnover in the neutral zone, and was able to chip in a second chance opportunity.
Tuch's first goal of the season was unassisted, and allowed Buffalo to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room after two periods.
Buffalo continued to lead the Kings in the shots on goal department, credited with 27 total shots through two periods, while Los Angeles had a two-period total of 11 shots.
Los Angeles was able to kill off the remaining seconds of a carry over penalty from the second period, and scored 13 seconds into the third to tie the game at 1-1. Anze Kopitar converted on a chance created by Alex Laferriere in the offensive zone.
Kopitar's second goal of the game came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation while Los Angeles was on the power play. The Sabres had just killed off the first of two minor penalties before the Kings' captain scored his second goal of the night, giving the team a 2-1 lead late in regulation.
With time ticking away, Kopitar completed the natural third-period hat-trick into an empty Buffalo net to cap off a comeback victory.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
LAK: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 16:55 - Alex Tuch (1) SHG (Unassisted)
LAK: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
LAK: 00:13 - Anze Kopitar (1) (Alex Laferriere, Joel Edmundson); 18:22 - Anze Kopitar (2) PPG (Jordan Spence, Kevin Fiala); 19:18 - Anze Kopitar (3) ENG (Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe)
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Darcy Kuemper - LAK
2.) Anze Kopitar - LAK
3.) Alex Tuch - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres remain home to host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday night at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET with the Steve Foley Law Pregame Show on the Sabres Radio Network beginning at 6 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol.