In jeopardy of clinching a dubious distinction, the Buffalo Sabres didn’t fall apart when Jesper Fast scored the opening goal Tuesday on a smooth backhanded shot in the first period.
Even some difficult moments in the third period didn’t lead to an unraveling.
The Sabres conjured the same effort that propelled the club during an impressive March, as they rallied from an early deficit and Victor Olofsson delivered the winning goal with 7:52 remaining in regulation to secure a 4-2 victory in KeyBank Center over the Carolina Hurricanes, a Stanley Cup contender with 98 points in the standings.
"We had to adjust a little bit," said Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. "We’re a good team, so we know how to do it. It wasn’t pretty tonight, but we found a way. That's what good teams are doing."
The win delayed the Sabres clinching an NHL-record 11th season outside the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s inevitable that hockey fans in Buffalo will wait at least one more year to experience postseason games. And though the comeback against Carolina showed the Sabres’ mettle, it wasn’t done with the drought in mind.
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Among the current Sabres, only Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons have been in Buffalo for more than four seasons. Neither Don Granato nor his players are responsible for the various organizational mistakes that have Buffalo on the verge of tying the New York Jets for the second longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports.
Kevyn Adams, the Sabres’ general manager, has acknowledged the 11-year wait and strives to learn from miscues of the past. But neither he nor Granato want anyone in the dressing room to dwell on what’s gotten the franchise to the cusp of an unfortunate record. For these Sabres, it’s all about the future, and the outlook has continued to brighten this season.
The Sabres (26-34-11) trailed by only one goal at the first intermission – Fast scored at 14:58 into the game when Carolina’s pressure led to a defensive zone turnover for Buffalo – but the Hurricanes have become an elite team under Rod Brind’Amour. Entering the game, Carolina was 34-3-6 when scoring the first goal and 30-1-3 when leading after the second period.
A sluggish first period wasn’t a forecast of what was in store for the Sabres over the final 40 minutes, even though it did not bode well that they didn’t record a shot on goal for the first 10:50 of the game. Buffalo was the far better team in the second period and received help from Craig Anderson, who made 32 saves.
"I feel we're super confident as a group right now," said Olofsson. "Even when they scored at 2-2, we just kind of settled down a little bit and kept it more simple."
Jeff Skinner’s goal, his 29th of the season, tied the score only 1:21 into the middle frame when he finished a 2-on-1 by one-timing a perfect cross-slot pass by Tage Thompson. And the Sabres took their first lead of the game less than five minutes later when Casey Mittelstadt corralled a pass on the right wing, skated through the circle and scored on a shot from below the faceoff dot to make it 2-1.
Playing well against the Hurricanes (45-16-8) isn’t a small feat for the Sabres. They went 0-7-4 in their previous 11 meetings against Carolina. But a difficult third period cost Buffalo, as a turnover by Thompson led to Nino Niederreiter’s tying goal with 15:50 remaining in regulation.
"Our confidence didn't break," Granato said.
The Sabres were plagued by turnovers until Dahlin made the play that led to the game-winning goal. Dahlin batted the puck out of midair to keep possession in the offensive zone and found a wide-open Olofsson in the right circle with a perfect cross-ice pass. Olofsson’s shot beat goalie Frederik Andersen for his 16th goal of the season.
"When he's in his office, you have to give him the puck," Dahlin said with a smark. "Great shot by him. Huge goal."
Dylan Cozens delivered the insurance goal on the power play with 4:49 remaining in regulation to cap a late-season performance that was unlike most seen in KeyBank Center during the first 10 years of the drought. Following this latest comeback, the Sabres are 10-4-3 in their last 17 games since March 1.
"It was a great win today," said Dahlin.
Here are other observations from the game:
1. Trending up
Mittelstadt has nine points in his last nine games after scoring his fourth goal of the season Tuesday night. He continues to improve coming off the injury that kept him out of the lineup for all but four of the Sabres’ first 41 games this season. Olofsson has made similar improvement recently, showcasing his remarkable shot release and a much better all-around game. He has four goals over his last five games.
Olofsson has five game-winning goals since March 2.
"When you don't score for 30 games, it obviously goes to your head and you think too much whenever you get a good chance," Olofsson admitted. "I feel way more confident right now. The puck seems to keep finding the net, which is a little bit of a relief."
2. Revenge game
Skinner continued to inflict revenge on his former team. The 29-year-old winger has six goals and eight points in six games against the Hurricanes, recording a point in each of those contests. Drafted seventh overall by Carolina in 2010, Skinner was traded to Buffalo in August 2018. His 29 goals in 2021-22 are more than all but three of his totals from his eight seasons with the Hurricanes.
Thompson deserves the credit for manipulating the defenseman and the goalie into thinking he was taking the shot before the goal.
3. Highlight-reel play
Before making the pass to Olofsson, Dahlin faked pressure on Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who quickly tried to clear the puck up the boards.
Dahlin batted the puck down near the blue line before finding Olofsson across the ice to set up the winning goal. It's a play that showed Dahlin is playing without fear of making a mistake.
"We've talked about no hesitation, being fearless," said Granato. "When you're that, it unleashes the ability, it unleashes the skill. ... An amazing play."
4. Around the boards
Defenseman Colin Miller skated with the Sabres on Tuesday morning for the first time since he went into Covid-19 protocol, but Miller will need more practice time to get back into game shape. He was symptomatic while in protocol. … Winger Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jacob Bryson appeared in their 900th and 100th NHL games, respectively. … This was the Hurricanes’ first game in Buffalo since Nov. 14, 2019. ... Anderson earned his 305th career win, moving into a tie with Billy Smith for 34th all-time.
5. Next
The Sabres begin a four-game road trip Thursday night in Carolina against the Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. Buffalo then has road games against Florida (Friday), Tampa Bay (Sunday) and Toronto (Tuesday).
