Coming off a 3-2 win on Friday night over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the Buffalo Sabres got off to a poor start with three goals-against early on and that would be all the Anaheim Ducks needed in a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon at KeyBank Center.
Sabres goalie Jonas Johansson got off to a shaky start in goal, giving up three goals in the opening 12 minutes of play to put Buffalo in an early hole. However, he did bounce back to keep the Sabres in the game and ended his night with 25 saves.
The Ducks opened things up at the 6:15 mark of the first period with forward Sam Steel blazing up the left wing before throwing a pass into the slot, which linemate Jakob Silfverberg fired right past Johansson, who got a piece of the puck before it went in.
Anaheim didn't step off the gas as forward Rickard Rakell had the puck against the boards behind the net and threw a pass in front to Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf, who fired his shot through the five-hole to connect for the Ducks' second goal.
Just 1:15 later, Nick Ritchie scored the Ducks' third goal of the period as he grabbed a loose puck in front of the Buffalo net, spun around and fired his shot through the five-hole of Johansson to make it a 3-0 score.
The Ducks continued to apply pressure, and even drew a penalty shot from a Lawrence Pilut holding infraction on the breakaway. However, Johansson was able to get a pad down on Troy Terry's penalty shot and kept the Sabres within three.
From there, the Sabres were able to gain some steam and generate some offense.
With 1:07 remaining in the first period, Anaheim turned the puck over at center ice, which allowed Johan Larsson to walk in on goal for a breakaway. Larsson was able to fire a wrist shot through the five-hole of former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to get Buffalo on the board.
In the second period, Johansson seemed much more comfortable in goal, stopping all 12 shots he faced while the Sabres tried to claw their way back into the game.
Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler took an interference penalty in the middle of the second period, which allowed the Sabres to draw within one. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin took a shot from the point that ended up finding its way past quite a few play to get past Miller and in.
Miller was the star of the third period, turning away all 15 shots he faced as Buffalo put a lot of pressure on the former Vezina winner. Jakob Silfverberg took a hooking call with 6:59 to go to give the Sabres another chance to tie the game, but they could not find the back of the net.
Buffalo pulled the goalie towards the end of the period, but it wouldn't be enough as the Ducks held on for the 3-2 win.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 18:53 - Johan Larsson (5) (Scott Wilson)ANA: 6:15 - Jakob Silfverberg (17) (Sam Steel, Michael Del Zotto); 10:45 - Ryan Getzlaf (12) (Rickard Rakell, Devin Shore); 12:00 - Nick Ritchie (6) (Troy Terry, Adam Henrique)
Second Period:
BUF: 11:41 - Rasmus Dahlin (4) PPG (Jack Eichel, Jimmy Vesey)ANA: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: NONEANA: NONE
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 17:52 - Lawrence Pilut (Hooking on breakaway - Penalty Shot)ANA: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 14:01 - Scott Wilson (Tripping - 2 min.)ANA: 10:32 - Cam Fowler (Interference - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: NONEANA - 13:01 - Jakob Silfverberg (Hooking - 2 min.)
Strategic Financial Solutions Stats of the Game:
Shots:ANA: 28 (11, 12, 5)BUF: 33 (7, 11, 15)
Goalies:
ANA: Ryan Miller - 31 savesBUF: Jonas Johansson - 25 saves
Power Plays:
ANA: 0 for 1 (0%)BUF: 1 for 2 (50%)
Three Stars presented by Losi and Gangi:
- Nick Ritchie - ANA
- Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
- Ryan Miller - ANA
What's Next:
Buffalo is back at it on Tuesday night at the KeyBank Center as the Sabres take on the Detroit Red Wings. The Paul William Beltz Pregame Show gets underway at 6 p.m. with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog at (716) Food and Sport with faceoff set for 7 p.m.
