Boston, Mass. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A gutsy effort in a chippy affair helped the Buffalo Sabres put its eight-game road losing streak in the rearview mirror.
Alex Tuch was the hero for Buffalo in the dying seconds of overtime to help the Sabres beat the Bruins, 3-2, on Monday at TD Garden.
The Sabres opened the scoring just over four minutes into the affair. The second power play unit went to work, and in the final seconds of the man advantage, Peyton Krebs potted his sixth goal of the season.
Boston battled back, though, and scored consecutive goals to take a 2-1 lead. In a matter of 2:13, forwards Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie scored on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Zacha's goal was his ninth-career tally against Buffalo, while Geekie got behind Mattias Samuelsson for a breakaway.
The second period was flying by with the score still 2-1, Bruins.
The the 12:48 mark of the middle frame, though, Owen Power managed to even the score again at 2-2 with an impressive shot from the left circle.
Power's goal was the last of its kind in regulation, as the teams played to a stalemate in the third period. There were late chances for the Sabres, but the team was not able to find the go-ahead tally against goalie Joonas Korpisalo.
Overtime was a madhouse, as both teams traded high-octane chances in the first three minutes of play.
Then with the Sabres applying some pressure in the Boston end, Ryan McLeod was tripped up with just over two minutes to play, giving Buffalo a power play chance to end the game.
With just 10.7 seconds remaining on the clock and the power play nearly expired, Tuch secured the victory for Buffalo with a tip in front of Korpisalo that put an end to the Sabres' road woes.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 4:19 - Peyton Krebs (6) PPG (Jack Quinn, Owen Power)
BOS: 13:00 - Pavel Zacha (14) (Morgan Geekie, David Pastrnak); 15:13 - Morgan Geekie (23) (Parker Wotherspoon)
Second Period:
BUF: 12:48 - Owen Power (7) (Ryan McLeod, Bowen Byram)
BOS: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
BOS: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: 4:49 - Alex Tuch (26) PPG (Owen Power, Jack Quinn)
BOS: NONE
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Alex Tuch - BUF
2.) Morgan Geekie - BOS
3.) Owen Power - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres continue their four-game road trip, as they pay their first visit to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday to play the Utah Hockey Club. Puck drop is set for 9 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.