Sabres battle back to earn point in SO loss to Habs

Kyle Okposo felt a sense of a confidence on the Buffalo Sabres’ bench even as they fell behind by two goals to the Montreal Canadiens inside KeyBank Center on Saturday.

The Sabres were playing with the same competitiveness that carried them to a victory in Boston last Thursday, and it had already translated to four penalties drawn and a commanding advantage in the shot column by the time Jayden Struble and Nick Suzuki scored second-period goals for Montreal.

“We know that if we could play like that, it’s gonna wear on teams and tonight I thought in the third period that’s where it showed,” Okposo said.

The Sabres erased the deficit on third-period goals by Jeff Skinner and Okposo but lost 3-2 in a shootout. While the result was disappointing, the comeback was a microcosm of the larger picture.

If the Sabres stick to the identity they established these last two games, Okposo said, results will follow.

“It hurts not to get the win, but I think that we can agree that the last two games have looked a little bit different than the previous 25 or whatever we played,” he said. “It’s more how we want to play, and I think if we keep doing that on a nightly basis, we’re going to put ourselves in a pretty good spot.”

Buffalo finished with a season-high 48 shots, including 16 during the third period. Montreal goaltender Cayden Primeau was 16-for-16 on high-danger save opportunities, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Sabres were a stop away from winning in the shootout after Owen Power beat Primeau with a wrist shot to his glove side on their third attempt. Jesse Ylonen scored to keep the Canadiens alive, then Primeau made a save on JJ Peterka to pave the way for Juraj Slafkovsky’s shootout winner.

Devon Levi made 29 saves in his second consecutive start for the Sabres, including a sprawling toe save to rob Cole Caufield with the game tied 2-2 during the third period. The two goals he allowed came 14 seconds apart after Eric Robinson was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding against defenseman Justin Barron.

The penalty against Robinson – combined with a two-minute roughing minor assessed to defenseman Kaiden Guhle for the ensuing scrum – set up two minutes at 4-on-4 followed by a three-minute power play for Montreal. Struble crossed the Buffalo net and scored on a deflection late in the 4-on-4 stretch, then Suzuki buried a power-play goal on the rush off the following faceoff.

“I think in a hockey game you expect a little bit of chaos and you’ve just got to embrace it,” Levi said. “Obviously, it’s not ideal, but you take the punches and roll with them and I think that’s what we did. We shut it down after that.”

The Sabres went 0-for-5 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted 36 seconds during the first period. Primeau’s 11 shorthanded saves included a pad stop on Okposo from in front of the net.

“We did have a couple opportunities,” Okposo said regarding the power play. “I had two that I should have put away early and then we’re talking about a different game. But you just have to stick with it. … When things aren’t going in you have to get pucks to the net and get guys there. As cliché as that sounds, that’s how you break out of a slump on the PP.”

Still, the Sabres fought their way back during the final period. Tage Thompson pulled up at the half wall and set up Skinner’s goal from the slot just 1:06 into the period. Connor Clifton forced a turnover on the forecheck and created a rebound for Okposo’s tying goal 5:30 later.

“The process was much, much better and the process was consistent with compete and battle through most of the game,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “We generated chances through that, but the result is frustrating.”

Here’s more from the loss to Montreal.

1. Granato gave his perspective on the game misconduct against Robinson, who hit Barron into the end boards as they chased the puck into the Buffalo zone. The Sabres coach said he felt Robinson was looking for the puck as he finished the hit.

“So, it wasn’t an egregious disregard of the puck to run over the guy as a single objective,” Granato said. “It was clear to me watching that he was still looking for the puck the entire time. But I can’t speak for that, I’m just telling you what I saw on it. I don’t make the calls and I don’t know the league and the standard. So, yeah, you move on.”

2. Watch Levi’s highlight-reel save on Caufield below.

Levi broke down the save afterward.

“Suzuki held the puck for a while,” he said. “I thought he was going to shoot it for sure, and he made a nice pass to Caufield. It was kind of just a desperation save, just try to get something on it. I think I got it with my toe. It was a fun sequence.”

Up next

The Sabres host the Arizona Coyotes at KeyBank Center on Monday. Tickets are available here.

The pregame show on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.