After falling down two goals early in the first period, the Buffalo Sabres played comeback on Thursday night in a 3-2 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers at KeyBank Center.
The comeback was completed in grand style as Jack Eichel sealed the victory with an overtime penalty shot to net his 26th goal of the 2019-20 campaign.
The Oilers scored a pair of goals in rapid succession to get things going early as Riley Sheahan and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins quickly made the score 2-0 just seven minutes in.
The Sabres had a quick answer just 99 seconds later when forward Marcus Johansson wrapped a puck around Oilers goalie Mike Smith, and the rebound was picked up by Curtis Lazar in front of the net. Lazar's was able to tap in his third goal of the season and second goal in the last three games.
Lazar's goal was also the first goal of the new decade, picking up where captain Jack Eichel left off in the final game of 2019 on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That 2-1 score held through the rest of the first period and through the second period as well. The middle frame saw not much more than one penalty per-side, though Buffalo did lead in shots over the 20-minute span at 10-8.
The Sabres tied the game less than four minutes into the third period when Sam Reinhart was able to get a piece of a Zach Bogosian point shot that found its way through Smith. It was Reinhart's 100th goal in the NHL, and his 237th point overall in 373 career games.
On the play, Victor Olofsson received the secondary assist, but needed help off the ice after falling awkwardly on his right leg in the corner of the Edmonton zone while making his pass to Bogosian.
Olofsson would not return for the remainder of the contest, which remained tied 2-2 through regulation. During his postgame press conference, head coach Ralph Krueger said Olofsson's condition would be evaluated on Friday.
Just 1:09 into overtime, Eichel made his way into the Oilers' zone and picked up speed past the Edmonton defense. Before he could get a shot off, Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom hooked Eichel and the referees awarded the Buffalo captain a penalty shot.
On the ensuing penalty shot, Eichel made his way in on Smith fired a wrist shot over the glove of the Edmonton netminder for the win.
The Sabres kicked off 2020 with a 3-2 overtime victory, and ended up sweeping the season series with the Oilers.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 8:39 - Curtis Lazar (3) (Marcus Johansson)EDM: 5:06 - Riley Sheahan (4) (Josh Archibald, Adam Larsson); 7:00 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (9) (Kailer Yamamoto, Leon Draisaitl)
Second Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 3:53 - Sam Reinhart (13) (Zach Bogosian, Victor Olofsson)EDM: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: 1:09 - Jack Eichel (26) Penalty Shot (Unassisted)EDM: NONE
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 8:55 - Marcus Johansson (Tripping - 2 min.)EDM: 3:56 - Zack Kassian (Hooking - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: 11:01 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Slashing - 2 min.)
Overtime:
BUF: NONEEDM: NONE
Shots on Goal:
BUF: 26 (5, 10, 8, 3)EDM: 27 (14, 8, 5, 0)
Goalies:
BUF: Linus Ullmark - 25 savesEDM: Mike Smith - 23 saves
Power Plays:
BUF: 0 for 2EDM: 0 for 1
Three Stars:
- Curtis Lazar - BUF
- Jack Eichel - BUF
- Zemgus Girgensons - BUF
What's Next:
The Sabres wrap up their homestand on Saturday when they host the Florida Panthers for '90s Night at KeyBank Center. To accommodate the Buffalo Bills' Wild Card matchup with the Houston Texans at 4:35 p.m., the Sabres moved the start time of the contest from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. The Paul William Beltz Pregame Show will get started at 12 p.m. with Brian Koziol from KeyBank Center, and you can hear the action over on our sister station, WBEN News Radio 930 AM.
