Observations: 'Special' night for Sabres ends with Victor Olofsson's goal in OT

With each key save by goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, they responded, “Luuuuuuuuuk.” They roared after Dylan Cozens’ wrist shot went off the post and behind future Hall of Fame goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for the Sabres' third goal in 3:25 seconds during the second period.

When coach Don Granato was likely preparing to pull Luukkonen for an extra attacker, Rasmus Dahlin sent the sellout crowd into a frenzy when he tied the score again with 2:24 left in regulation.

"It was crazy," said Dahlin, shaking his head in the Sabres' dressing room.

General Manager Kevyn Adams and owner Terry Pegula watched from a suite as the Sabres flexed their offensive firepower against another playoff contender. 

Everyone in the organization, from ownership to support staff, set a goal at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to win the fans back. This, of course, would require a winning hockey team. Adams’ vision when he took the job in June 2020 was to build a fast and skilled group that paired a love for the City of Buffalo with a desire to outwork each opponent. Patience was a hard sell amid a long, painful playoff drought.

The Sabres showed their fans again Saturday night that this isn’t like past attempts at building a winner in Buffalo. Dahlin’s second goal, and fourth point of the game, ensured them at least one point. 

Then, the 2018 first overall pick earned his fifth point of the night by starting the 3-on-2 rush that led to Victor Olofsson's game-winning goal in overtime that gave Buffalo a 6-5 victory.

"It was pretty special," said Olofsson. "The fans were incredible. It was one of the loudest games I’ve ever been a part of. It felt great to comeback to win."

Addressing his team in the dressing room afterward, Granato explained how this comeback was different than its recent come-from-behind wins in Boston and Washington D.C.

This was at home in front of a sellout crowd. The Sabres had played here only once since Dec. 13. It was another emotional night in the building. The team held a "moment of celebration" before the game for Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is making progress in his recovery after having to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night. 

There was pressure to respond when Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson-Ek scored three goals in 9:03 to give the Wild a 5-4 lead in the third period.

The Sabres responded by allowing only four shots on goal in the final 12:12 of regulation. Luukkonen then stopped each of the six shots he faced in overtime, including Jonas Brodin on a breakaway, to earn his sixth consecutive win. It was a strong finish for Luukkonen on a night when he needed to show he should stay in the NHL. Eric Comrie could re-join the team as soon as Monday.

"You have 19,000 people you might send home disappointed," said Granato. "And if you think that doesn’t affect your psyche as a team, as individuals, it’s a load to handle. And our guys just – the way they handled that, it didn’t affect them in any negative manner. They were dialed in and believed in their ability to come back, tie the game, and they never lost their ability and belief that they could win it."

The Sabres (20-15-2) have won eight of their last nine games. Their 13-4-2 record since snapping an eight-game losing streak has vaulted them into the race. They trail the New York Islanders by four points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and they've played four fewer games.

Minnesota (22-13-3) is one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. Entering Saturday, its 2.34 goals against per game since Oct. 25 ranked second in league. Fleury is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and ranks fifth all-time in games played by a goalie.

The Sabres had no problem creating scoring chances, though. They threatened throughout the first period, but they hit the net on only eight of their 20 shot attempts.

Olofsson's was enough for a 1-0 lead. The play started when Dahlin's pass across the slot was blocked by a Minnesota defenseman. Casey Mittelstadt gathered the puck, then passed to Olofsson, who shot into a wide-open net with seven minutes left in the first period.

The Wild tied the score 2:52 into the second and took the lead on Kirill Kaprizov's power-play goal less than four minutes later.

"We’ve seen it a couple times now, so we know we can do it," Dahlin said of the multiple comebacks. "How everyone reacts on the bench is just amazing. No one gets frustrated or stressed about it. We just keep going and we have so many skilled and talented players. If we get one chance, we will score. It’s a lot of fun when the team is doing that."

The Sabres' power play, which entered Saturday ranked second in the NHL, needed only six seconds. Cozens was first to reach the puck on a faceoff win to Fleury's left and managed to make a short pass to Dahlin near the blue line.

Dahlin skated toward the high slot to draw a Wild penalty-killer away from Thompson, then sent a pass to the left circle. Thompson hammered the puck over Fleury's glove for his 31st goal of the season and first since being named an all-star Thursday.

Ninety-two seconds later, Dahlin scored his first of two goals when he got the puck from Mittelstadt, then stick-handled across the slot to avoid a diving Wild defenseman and scored on a wrist shot.

The Sabres' next power play started ugly, but they quickly recovered by forcing multiple turnovers. Tuch extended a possession in the offensive zone by getting the puck to Cozens, whose wrist shot from the left circle went off the far post and in for a 4-2 lead with 6:05 left in the second period. The crowd roared again.

"I get chills every time I hear that stuff," said Dahlin. "We’ve had to prove to the fans that we’re a competitive team. ... When they are loud, we just want to win more. We love our crowd. We love our fans.”

The Wild's comeback began with a deflection by Hartman late in the second period, and the score was tied again when Foligno crashed the net to turn a pass by Eriksson-Ek into a goal. Minnesota then took a 5-4 lead when Eriksson-Ek got behind Buffalo's defense and beat Luukkonen with a high, glove-side shot at 7:48 into the third period.

"We never panic," said Olofsson.

Again, the Sabres took control. Owen Power and Kyle Okposo couldn't convert on prime chances. Fleury was exceptional in net for Minnesota, but he let in the tying goal on a shot by Dahlin from near the right wall to make it 5-5.

This led to a back-and-forth overtime that included multiple breakaways and odd-man rushes stopped by Fleury and Luukkonen. Finally, Peyton Krebs found Olofsson open in the right circle for the winning goal.

One year ago, the Sabres' focus was development. They knew 2021-22 wasn't going to include a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Too many players needed to gain valuable experience. Now, they have the highest-scoring offense in the NHL and a deep, talented roster that's put on another show in Buffalo.

"We will never let go of the need to continue to get better," said Granato. "I think that would be a mistake. ... Of course, we want to win. But the goal is to win more and more consistently. And we're continuing to do the right things to build until that actually occurs. 

"And we do know it's getting closer. We're getting closer and closer to that, because of the process and the commitment to that process."

Here are other observations from the game:

1. Breakout continues

The price to sign Cozens continues to rise. A pending restricted free agent, Cozens entered Saturday on pace for 27 goals and 80 points. He continued to show why he’s deserving of a long-term contract by assisting on Thompson’s power-play goal and scoring a goal of his own to cap the Sabres’ onslaught in the second period.

Cozens, 21, already matched his goal total from all of last season (13) and his 37 points are only one fewer than he had in 79 games in 2021-22.

2. Showing progress

This was another strong game by Mittelstadt. 

With three assists Saturday, Mittelstadt earned his second three-point game of the season. He made an impact in several different ways. The Sabres had 84.21% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts (16-3) when Mittelstadt was on the ice with Olofsson and Tyson Jost.

Mittelstadt skated around Wild forward Matt Boldy when entering the offensive zone, creating ample space for the Sabres to begin to cycle the puck. The shift ended with Dahlin scoring with his shot from the slot in the second period. Mittelstadt has already matched his previous career high for assists in a single season. He has seven goals and 23 points through 37 games.

3. Remarkable pace

Few defensemen in Sabres history have accomplished what Dahlin has at 22 years old. Only one has reached 200 career points faster than Dahlin, who reached the milestone Saturday in his 313th game: Phil Housley (212). Dahlin also became the fourth defenseman in the NHL this season to reach the 40-point mark. He has 12 goals and 44 points in 36 games. He needs only 10 points to set a new career high. 

Entering Saturday, Dahlin was on pace for 23 goals and 90 points, the latter of which would eclipse Housley’s single-season franchise record for a defenseman. The Sabres improved to 11-1 this season when Dahlin records multiple points. His five-point game tied the franchise record by a defenseman, which was set by Housley in 1989.

Following the game, Granato campaigned for Dahlin to join Thompson at the NHL All-Star Game next month.

“He was a force," Granato said. "I don’t know, was it NHL vote, NHL All-Star.com? Whatever it is. But there should be some clicks tonight because that was a special night by him. To watch that unfold was impressive."

Dahlin had two goals, five points and four shots on goal in a team-high 29:25 of ice time. Power was also exceptional for the Sabres. Both of his shots on goal were scoring chances, and he was on the ice for 28:53. Buffalo had 60% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts (21-14) when Power was on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. 

4. Roster updates

Defenseman Henri Jokiharju skated with the Sabres on Saturday morning for the first time since he suffered a lower-body injury during a game against Pittsburgh on Dec. 9. Jokiharju will need more practice time before he returns, though. 

“For him it’ll be pain tolerance and then the ability to push it,” said Granato. “He’s been off, so you want to make sure there’s not going to be any groin strains, hip strains, those things, because he hasn’t had (to play) with much pop. So, yeah, I would say if everything goes well, we might be looking at a week.”

5. Next

The Sabres’ four-game week begins with a back-to-back Monday and Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken, respectively.