ST. PAUL, Minn. – With one of the NHL’s hottest goalies in the opposing crease and a loud capacity crowd of 18,022 inside Xcel Energy Center, the Buffalo Sabres showed glimpses of their potential throughout Thursday night.
Even without top-six forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Tuch, the Sabres peppered goalie Cam Talbot with 21 shots on goal in the first period and finished with 40. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a talented goalie prospect who started the season fourth on the depth chart, delivered bail-out saves in key moments. Even through some ugly stretches of play, the Sabres made the job difficult on the first-place Minnesota Wild and tied the score twice in regulation, capped by Mark Pysyk’s one-timer in the third period.
It was another encouraging night in a season that’s been filled with growing pains, and the Sabres were rewarded when Tage Thompson secured a 3-2 win with a goal in the third shootout round.
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"It means a lot," Thompson said following the game. "I feel like we've been playing good hockey, and you're not always going to get results, so it's a really good feeling when you do. ... It just reminds you of all the little things you did to get the win."
The Sabres (10-15-4) won back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 25 and 28 and have earned points in three straight after snapping a seven-game winless skid Tuesday in Winnipeg.
The Wild (19-8-2) entered Thursday with the second-most points in the NHL, and their 19 wins were second to only Toronto (20). Minnesota had scored four-plus goals in 16 of its previous 20 games and owned a six-game win streak at home, outscoring opponents 31-12 during that span.
Yet they were outplayed for much of the night, buckling under the Sabres’ pressure and failing to create enough space in the offensive zone. Although Luukkonen allowed two goals on shots he should have stopped, the 22-year-old finished with 30 saves and made three in the shootout, taking away the angle on Kirill Kaprizov in the final round. It was an important response after an erratic start for Luukkonen.
"I love his -- his body language tells it all," said coach Don Granato.
He paid for his first significant mistake when he let defenseman Jon Merrill’s shot from the point leak through for a 1-0 Minnesota lead at 10:11 into the game. Luukkonen responded with a pad save on a 2-on-1 drive to the net by Ryan Hartman later in the period.
Talbot kept the lead at one goal during a remarkable first period in which he helped kill two penalties. The two teams locked down defensively to open the second. They combined for only one shot on goal through eight minutes, a stretch that ended with Kyle Okposo narrowly scoring on a misplayed puck off the end boards by Talbot.
While Talbot made the save, the puck ended up on Henri Jokiharju’s stick near the blue line and the ensuing shot was tipped by Dylan Cozens for the tying goal 8:05 into the second period. It was Cozens’ eighth goal of the season and his first in six games.
"It's huge," Pysyk said of the Sabres' response. "They always play very hard here. It’s a tough building to come into. But the guys did a great job. We have some confidence in that room, which is good. We just got to keep building on it."
Buffalo survived a four-minute Minnesota power play thanks to Luukkonen’s heroics. The 22-year-old stood tall with 12 saves in the second period, a performance that was overshadowed by his inability to make a save that gave the Wild the lead. Kaprizov fired a shot during a 2-on-1 that went off the inside of Luukkonen’s left leg pad and in to make it 2-1 with 55.5 seconds remaining. The Sabres had only six shots on goal in the second period, two of which occurred on the same shift that ended with Cozens’ goal.
Buffalo didn't relent and again controlled play, peppering Talbot with 11 shots in the third period and tied the score with 7:57 remaining when Pysyk skated deep into the offensive zone and one-timed a cross-ice pass from the opposite corner by Vinnie Hinostroza. With momentum in hand, Cozens nearly won the game in overtime on a drive to the net with under a minute remaining, and the Sabres sent the Wild to their first loss of the season when leading at the second intermission.
“The game we felt was ours," said Granato. "There was an opportunity that we would have to win that game. ... They were dialed in. They felt obviously – the response in the third period was one of ownership. ‘We deserve this game.’ And they went after it.”
Here are other observations from the game Thursday night:
1. Locking down
Missing key short-handed minutes leader Robert Hagg, the Sabres’ penalty kill came up big in the second period by keeping Minnesota off the scoreboard while Rasmus Dahlin was in the box for a four-minute double minor. Luukkonen made five saves and his teammates didn’t allow any clean looks.
“That was huge,” said Thompson. “Honestly, that probably won us the game."
2. Chaotic first period
Only two teams in the NHL had allowed more first-period goals than the Sabres (36), yet this was one of the finer starts we’ve seen through 29 games this season. Buffalo had the clear advantage in shots (21-6) and shot attempts (31-12) while feeding off the momentum of two power plays.
3. Around the boards
Winger Anders Bjork was scratched because of a non-Covid illness. … Thompson had a team-high six shots on goal, while Cozens and Victor Olofsson both had five. ... Dahlin skated a team-high 25:45, but his defense partner, Jokiharju, did not skate in overtime after taking a puck to the face in the third period.
4. Next
The Sabres complete the back-to-back Friday night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins (15-8-5), who have outscored opponents 42-21 while going 10-2-1 in 13 games since a 2-1 loss to Buffalo on Nov. 16. Malcolm Subban is expected to start in goal for the Sabres.
