Jokiharju's overtime goal caps Sabres' comeback win over Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Casey Mittelstadt and Jordan Greenway took the ice for warmups at Xcel Energy Center ahead of the Buffalo Sabres’ game against the Minnesota Wild and looked around stands.

Mittelstadt, surrounded by family and friends from his nearby hometown of Eden Prairie, Minn., thought back to childhood memories of sitting in those seats and watching the Wild play while Greenway was all smiles as he was greeted with cheers and signs in his first game back in Minnesota since being traded to the Sabres last March.

“A lot of good memories in this building,” Mittelstadt said. “So, definitely special. I think especially in warmups. Once the game starts, you’re kind of playing hockey.”

Both players ended up making their mark in their return to Minnesota as Mittelstadt scored the game’s first goal and Greenway assisted on the game-tying goal with 36.6 seconds remaining before Henri Jokiharju tallied the overtime winner in the Sabres’ 3-2 victory over the Wild on Saturday.

“There’s a lot of people here, so happy that they could see that,” Mittelstadt said. “And then I think it was a heck of a game for them to watch, and a good win for us in the end there.”

Buffalo and Minnesota entered the first intermission tied 0-0 after an opening period that featured 12 shots from each team and a Sabres goal that was overturned.

Rasmus Dahlin drew a tripping penalty on Vinni Lettieri with 2:09 left to go in the first to give the Sabres their third power play of the day. Buffalo’s power-play unit of Alex Tuch, Dylan Cozens, Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, and Dahlin connected on a series of quick passes before Dahlin fed Thompson for a one-timer from the left circle that beat Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson. However, Minnesota challenged for an offside and the goal was taken back after video review determined that Dahlin was offside prior to the goal.

Despite being outshot 10-3 in the second, Buffalo was still in the game due in large part to goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made 22 of his 30 saves in the first and second periods to keep the score at 0-0 while the Sabres settled into the game.

The Sabres finally struck first 39 seconds into the third period, when Jokiharju sent a pass for Mittelstadt into the neutral zone to set up a 2-on-1 rush. Mittelstadt carried the puck into the circle and thought about passing to Cozens on his left before ripping a shot past Gustavsson on the far side.

“I think I thought I was going to Cozens there, too,” Mittelstadt said. “So, hopefully that got them a little bit and yeah, like I said, nice to see one go in in front of a lot of family and friends.”

The Wild had an answer less than three minutes later after Kaprizov forced a turnover in the neutral zone and brought Luukkonen out of the blue paint to set up Joel Eriksson Ek for Minnesota’s first goal. They tacked on another tally with 8:39 to go in the second, taking advantage of a four-minute power play as Connor Clifton was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking.

The Sabres nearly killed off the penalty, but the Wild scored with 16 seconds remaining on their power play, when Declan Chisholm fired a shot from the point following an offensive-zone faceoff win to put the Wild up 2-1.

From there, Greenway thought the group stuck with it and continued to keep playing a hard, simple game to ignite a comeback.

“We just kept going on them,” he said. “We just decided that we just needed to try and get another gear, put everything we could towards the net. … If you do the right things, success usually comes.”

The Sabres were rewarded for their perseverance after Luukkonen went to the bench for the extra skater with under two minutes remaining. Thompson let a shot go from the point while Greenway and Cozens created chaos in front of the net. Greenway jammed the rebound through Gustavsson’s pads and Cozens put the finishing touches on the puck as it crossed the goal line with just over 30 seconds left in the final period.

“Credit to our guys to fight through there,” Sabres coach Don Granato said following the game. “Kept it simple. Thompson just got the puck to the net. That’s all you need to do 6-on-5 and then win the battle. And Greenway, obviously, and the guys in front did that. So, good finish.”

Buffalo completed its come-from-behind win 1:29 into the overtime period as Jokiharju possessed the puck along the boards and passed to Tuch, who was fresh off the bench. Jokiharju went to the slot for a return pass before burying a one-timer.

“I just thought there would be an open spot in the slot and just kind of stayed there since it’s 3-on-3,” Jokiharju said. “I kind of knew that they were tired, and we had fresh guys.”

Although Granato felt his players weren’t exactly themselves, he praised the group for their effort and ability to battle through adversity to secure the win.

“… We had a lot of guys that I think had some heavy legs,” Granato said. “But the battle was there. That’s what I liked the most. And you know that when you’re on the bench and you hear the way the players talk. They stayed in it and on it.”

Here's more from the win.

1. The Wild welcomed Greenway - who played 317 NHL games over the span of six seasons for Minnesota prior to his arrival in Buffalo - back with a tribute video during the TV timeout.

Following the game, Greenway was happy to have secured the win in his first game back in Minnesota.

“It’s nice to be coming out with a win, for sure. It makes things so much better,” he said. “The tribute video – the fans showed a tremendous amount of (support). They made it special for me. And it was really nice to come back to.”

2. Luukkonen made his 12th start in the last 15 games and improved to 7-5-0 in his last 12 contests. He has recorded a .943 save percentage and a 1.60 goals-against average in that span, which rank first in the NHL among goalies with more than three games played since Jan. 1.

“He’s been great – not only tonight – for as long as I can remember, he’s been great,” Greenway said. “And it’s always nice to have that backbone back there. When you do give up a 2-on-1 or make a mistake, just to have that extra confidence that we got Upie back there, we’re good. It’s really nice. He’s been huge.”

3. Jokiharju's tally was the first overtime goal and first game-winning goal of his NHL career. 

Granato said the defenseman's goal was the result of his offensive instincts.

“He’s got some real good offensive instincts, and you see it in practice,” Granato emphasized. “You see the shot that he took – quick release, perfectly placed. So, a nice play all around, but he came off the bench fresh. And in those situations – it’s overtime, so you need to have an offensive instinct and hunger or appetite in that situation.”

Up next

The Sabres head home to host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday at KeyBank Center.

The team will celebrate youth hockey around Western New York and Southern Ontario with special festivities throughout the afternoon.

Tickets are available here.  

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at noon with puck drop scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Fans without cable can also stream MSG on Fubo. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.