GAME RECAP: Sabres 3, Oilers 2 (SO)

BUFFALO, NY – After a wild finish to overtime, the Sabres were able to claim the extra point in the shootout to hand the Oilers their second straight defeat on Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 loss at KeyBank Center.

Ryan McLeod recorded a goal and assist, while Warren Foegele reached a new career-high with his 14th goal of the season that gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead in the first period that held until defenceman Jacob Bryson's first goal tied the game for Buffalo with 8:21 left in the final frame.

Defenceman Owen Power looked to have won the game for the Sabres with two seconds left in overtime, and after the players had left for the dressing rooms, the call was overturned on a league-mandated review, leading to play resuming and Stuart Skinner making a huge stop on Dylan Cozens to send the game to a shootout.

Buffalo netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves and stopped Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the shootout, while Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch each scored for the Sabres in the skills competition to earn them the extra point after having their previous game-winner overturned.

Oilers captain Connor McDavid had his 14-game point streak snapped in the defeat, while Draisaitl contributed an assist in his 700th career NHL game.

The Oilers move on to the second game of their afternoon back-to-back on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which will conclude their four-game Eastern road trip.

FIRST PERIOD

It took only 29 seconds from the opening faceoff for the line of Warren Foegele, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan McLeod to reward their realignment in the top six.

Edmonton's second line broke the game open on the first shift when McLeod missed wide in the opening moments before being the benefactor of a terrific reverse pass from Leon Draisaitl soon after, leading to the 24-year-old sneaking a shot short side on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead with his third goal of the season inside the game's first 30 seconds.

Draisaitl was playing in his 700th game on Saturday and picked up his 826th career point with the incredible pass, which is the fourth most by any Oilers player behind Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Connor McDavid through 700 games with the franchise.

Brett Kulak was in the penalty box when Buffalo went to their first power play with less than six minutes to go in the first, but it was Edmonton going the other way to double their lead on some terrific work by Foegele and McLeod while shorthanded.

Foegele won the puck off Buffalo blueliner Owen Power near the top of the Oilers zone before he pushed it ahead for McLeod to intercept and create separation between them and the two Sabres' defencemen, sending the two forwards in on a two-on-none.

The pair exchanged quick passes to draw Luukkonen out before Foegele finished off the play for a new career high of 14 goals and a 2-0 Oilers lead off the shorthanded rush.

Buffalo still had power-play time remaining to draw back within one before the intermission, and former 47-goal scorer Tage Thompson gave the hosts a much-needed answer. Newly-acquired defenceman Bowen Byram's shot led to the puck bouncing around in the slot, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins batting a puck down before Buffalo's talisman forward fired a one-knee shot on goal that beat Skinner with 4:25 left in the period.

McDavid hit the post in the final minute, allowing Buffalo to escape to the break with only a 2-1 deficit.

The Oilers were dominant in the face-off circle by winning the first 10 faceoffs in the first period (10-for-12), and after the additions of Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick, they now have a formidable force when it comes to taking draws.

SECOND PERIOD

Despite going down as a scoreless middle frame, there were plenty of dangerous chances that both the Oilers and Sabres would regret as the game began to tighten over the final 40 minutes.

Connor Clifton sifted a wrist shot through traffic early in the period that struck the crossbar behind a screened Skinner, who didn't see the defenceman's effort coming. The ringing of the iron would set a precedent for a post-filled period for Buffalo, with Thompson putting two more shots off the post in the middle frame.

Corey Perry showed off his hands four minutes later with a toe drag around a Buffalo defenceman that required Luukkonen to sprawl out and make an important diving save for the Sabres to keep things level.

Edmonton would get two more power plays over the remained of the period but couldn't cash in, dropping to 0-for-3 on the afternoon as the top-unit power play wasn't able to help their team find that all-important third goal to sink the Sabres.

"I thought we played a solid game, maybe gave up a couple too many chances or looks, but we just couldn't find that third one to get some insurance," Draisaitl said. "That's really the game. I thought we clearly outplayed them for the majority of the game. Their goalie was good and made some big stops, so we just couldn't find that third."

THIRD PERIOD

Despite their low shot totals, the Sabres had been buzzing for an equalizer and found it when defenceman JBryson's innocent backhand on net caught Skinner off guard to make it 2-2 with 8:21 left in regulation.

"I thought in the third period up until we let in the goal, we were defending really well and I don't think they had very many shots or offensive zone time," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I thought we played it really well, but unfortunately, they get that opportunity and it changes the game."

Buffalo would've taken the lead almost two minutes later if it weren't for an important stop from Skinner, who stood up Thompson on his wide-open opportunity from between the hashmarks before covering the ensuing rebound.

The save led to a strong follow-up shift from the line of Evander Kane, Adam Henrique and Corey Perry, with the latter almost putting away a high pass from Kane after crashing Luukkonen's crease and getting a golden opportunity at the near post that bounced over his blade.

A lively final 10 minutes to regulation would set the stage for an overtime period that wouldn't be short of crazy moments with the Oilers and Sabres all square at 3-3.

OVERTIME & SHOOTOUT

It had looked like it was all over, but eventually, the Sabres would be able to grab the extra point.

With two seconds on the clock, defenceman Owen Power lined up a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that nestled into the bottom left corner beyond Skinner's glove, seemingly winning the extra point as both teams then exited to the dressing rooms thinking that the result had been confirmed.

But then, both teams had to quickly put on any gear they might've taken off after a league-mandated review overturned the call for offside, so they had to regroup and return to the ice for the final 15 seconds of overtime.

"It was bizarre," Draisaitl said. "We had lots of guys who were pretty close to being in the shower, so it's different for sure. "[Assistant Equipment Manager Brad Harrison] just came in and yelled that it might be offside, so obviously, you scramble to get your gear back on and get back out there."

Skinner was seen taking a few extra moments in the tunnel to settle himself back into the game, and thankfully, the netminder was ready to come up with his best save of the afternoon when play resumed, standing up a clear-cut chance from Dylan Cozens with the clock – again – reading two seconds.

Skinner's dramatic last-gasp save meant the shootout would decide the winner, but Buffalo's own netminder Luukkonen was having another strong night, and he made the two necessary saves he needed on McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins to win the Sabres the hard-fought point.