Salt Lake City, Utah (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Despite leading 2-0 halfway through the second period, the Buffalo Sabres ended up on the wrong end of a dismal 5-2 loss at the hands of the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday at the Delta Center.
Five-and-a-half minutes into the game, the combination of Jack Quinn and Isak Rosen got the scoring started.
Quinn shook off a defender by the left-wing circle, and located Rosen, who was parked by the backdoor of goalie Karel Vejmelka for a 1-0 tap-in.
In the second period, Rosen learned that if one is good, two is better.
A beautiful connection between he and Noah Ostlund doubled the Sabres' lead to 2-0. Ostlund and Rosen played give-and-go, ending with an off-wing rip from Rosen.
It was Rosen's first-career multi-goal effort in this his 20th game in the NHL.
Midway through the middle stanza, though, Utah got on the scoreboard.
East Amherst native Nick DeSimone ripped a slapshot from the point that eluded Sabres goalie Colten Ellis, halving Buffalo's lead to 2-1.
From that moment on, it was all Utah until the final whistle blew.
An onslaught of four third-period goals completely turned the tide on, what was initially, a promising road effort from the Sabres.
Doing the damage, in succession, were Mammoth forwards JJ Peterka, Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller. Once the dust settled, it was a 5-2 defeat, and a sixth loss (0-4-2) in as many tries away from KeyBank Center to start the 2025-26 season.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 5:33 - Isak Rosen (2) (Jack Quinn, Bowen Byram)
UTA: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 6:42 - Isak Rosen (3) (Noah Ostlund)
UTA: 10:42 - Nick DeSimone (1) (Michael Carcone, Nate Schmidt)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
UTA: 0:52 - JJ Peterka (5) (John Marino, Mikhail Sergachev); 3:22 - Lawson Crouse (4) (JJ Peterka, Jack McBain); 10:09 - Nick Schmaltz (10) (Clayton Keller); 19:33 - Clayton Keller (7) ENG (Nick Schmaltz, Logan Cooley)
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) JJ Peterka - UTA
2.) Lawson Crouse - UTA
3.) Nick DeSimone - UTA
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What's next:
The Sabres next head off to Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Puck drop at Ball Arena is set for 9 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.