ANAHEIM, Calif. – Craig Anderson got the Sabres to overtime. Given a reprieve by their goaltender after plenty of difficult moments in regulation, his teammates ran with the chance.
Anderson made 34 saves, including nine in the third period when the Anaheim Ducks held the Sabres to just one shot on goal. Even though the Sabres blew a 3-0 lead they had built early in the second, they were able to restore order in overtime.
Buffalo maintained possession for most of the extra session and pulled out a 4-3 win Thursday night on Rasmus Asplund's tap-in with 43.9 seconds left off a Victor Olofsson feed. It was Asplund's second goal of the game.
The Sabres improved to 5-1-1 with the victory in the opener of their four-game West Coast road trip, leaving them tied for third place in the NHL's overall standing behind only Florida (7-0-0) and Carolina (6-0-0).
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Anaheim had 17 shots on goal in the first period but couldn't dent Anderson. The Ducks had a large share of the territorial play through regulation and finished with a 37-29 edge in the game, but the Sabres had the only two shots in OT. The 40-year-old Anderson was the dominant personality in the game.
"He was huge. The win is on him," said Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons.
"He was calm and confident," added coach Don Granato. "He read the shooters and the situations moments before they were transpiring. He was key. And I think our guys rallied around that."
Anderson improved to 4-1 on the season with a 1.76 goals-against average and .939 save percentage. But he's hard on himself. While most everyone in the building pegged his first-period shutdown of the Ducks as a key to the game, Anderson wasn't as willing to take such credit.
"A lot of those (extra saves) were self-inflicted with my rebound control, popping them back out to the slot," he said. "We got lucky that didn't make that two or three goals there on all that chaos. You take the good with the bad, a lot of that self-inflicted for not doing the job that I need to do. ... It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. And the guys did a great job as far as protecting the house as best they could."
Anderson prompted a huge turning point in the game early in the second period when he stoned Isac Lundestrom on a backhand after the Anaheim forward burned Rasmus Dahlin and broke in alone with the Sabres on the power play.
After the save, the Sabres regained their cool and set up in the Anaheim zone. Dahlin one-timed an Olofsson pass to Asplund, who blasted the puck home for his first career power-play goal and a 2-0 lead at 4:24 of the second.
Look at the touchpass by Dahlin off the Olofsson back feed. Sublime. #Sabres https://t.co/5HNJ5n1qX5
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) October 29, 2021
That sequence carried forward as the Sabres made it 3-0 at 6:01 on Arttu Ristolainen's first goal of the year, a stick shaft deflection of an Anders Bjork spot to the front.
But the Ducks finally broke through with goals in the second by Adam Henrique and Troy Terry, and tied the game at 5:59 of third on Simon Benoit's first NHL goal, a shot that deflected off Dylan Cozens, leaked through Anderson and just dribbled over the goal line.
Here are more observations on the game:
1. The OT winner
Olofsson left Ducks rookie center Trevor Zegras tied in knots when he moved through the offensive zone and sent the puck past goalie Anthony Stolarz for an Asplund tap-in into an empty net. It was Asplund's first career OT goal and his first two-goal game.
"It was all Olli there," Asplund said. "I was just on the backside of the net and tapped it in. It's his goal. I was just happy to be able to finish it off for him there. ... He had a little bit of space there up on the blue line so I passed him a little stretch pass there and he attacked the 'D' right away. So it was easy for me to just keep my speed and I ended up on the back side of the net."
The Swedes seal the deal! 🙌#LetsGoBuffalo | @LabattUSA pic.twitter.com/TsOLHKp25t
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 29, 2021
2. Girgensons and Okopso make a difference
Alternate captains Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo get almost daily praise from coaches and their teammates about they way they've been leading this club, but they're also producing on the score sheet as well.
Buffalo Sabres' Zemgus Girgensons, right, is congratulated by Kyle Okposo after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Anaheim, Calif.
Girgensons opened the scoring at 15:03 of the first period, banging home a long rebound of an Okposo shot from the left faceoff circle. It was Girgensons' third goal of the year, one behind Olofsson's team lead, and Okposo's third assist.
"That was a great shot by 'Okie'. The puck literally landed right on my stick," Girgensons said. "It wasn't too hard to put it on net. I just had to hit the net."
Zemgus getting things going 👌#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/ezjC5ZO4EL
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 29, 2021
3. Faceoffs continue to be an issue
While the Sabres were keeping things close on the shot clock, they were working harder to get their opportunities because they simply didn't have the puck as much. Anaheim ruled the faceoff circle, 32-18, giving the Ducks quite a head start on the attack.
Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was 12-3 in the circle while Buffalo's Tage Thompson had a rough night in going just 3-9.
4. By the numbers
Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk had no points in the first six games but earned assists on the goals by Girgensons and Bjork. ... Henrique's goal was the 200th of his NHL career, nine of which have come against the Sabres. ... Getzlaf assisted on the Terry goal, giving him 987 career points and pulling him within one of Teemu Selanne's franchise record.
5. Prospect report
Erik Portillo notched his first career shutout and defenseman Owen Power scored one of the goals as Michigan blanked Wisconsin, 3-0, Thursday night in its Big Ten opener in Ann Arbor.
Power, Buffalo's No. 1 overall pick in the July draft, has two goals and six assists in Michigan's seven games. Portillo, taken by the Sabres in 2019, is 6-1 with a 2.13 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. He made 28 saves in the game.
Jimmy Lambert intercepts and feeds Owen Power for the goal pic.twitter.com/fiodCOB9Pw
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) October 29, 2021
6. Next stop
The Sabres practice Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles Kings' facility in El Segundo. They meet the Kings Sunday in Staples Center at 4 p.m. ET.
