Kulich scores in OT, Power has 2 assists in win over Ducks

ANAHEIM – Jiri Kulich smiled ear to ear as his teammates mobbed him on the Honda Center ice late Friday night. The 20-year-old had just scored his second NHL goal, an overtime winner to clinch a 3-2 victory for the Buffalo Sabres over the Anaheim Ducks.

“To be honest, those teammates just help me a lot,” he said later. “I’m so glad I can be part of this team.”

Kulich’s goal punctuated a comeback win that pulled the Sabres above .500 for the first time this season, gave them possession of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and put them in position to sweep their California road trip with a victory in San Jose on Saturday.

The Sabres, coming off a tightly contested 1-0 victory in Los Angeles on Wednesday, trailed 2-0 late in the second period before Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker scored goals 50 seconds apart to tie the score at 2-2. Buffalo held Anaheim to eight shots in the third period to force overtime.

Kulich scored the winner with exactly one minute remaining in the extra period, the end result of a 2-on-0 rush between Tuch and Owen Power. Ducks goalie John Gibson made the initial save on Power, but Tuch tied up his man to allow the rebound to reach Kulich, setting the rookie up with a shot at the open net.

“I think you’ve got to find ways to win those games,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “They’re hard to win. But you’ve got to give the group a lot of credit. We gained a lot of momentum there at the end of the second.”

Ruff felt the Sabres had started the game well despite their early deficit. The Ducks’ first goal came on a shot from the point by Drew Helleson that beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as he was screened by his own teammates. Their next goal was a deflection by Isac Lundestrom off a shot from the half wall.

The Sabres got a spark in the second period when Radko Gudas hit Zucker hard into the boards, prompting Connor Clifton to fight the Ducks captain. Zach Benson challenged Jansen Harkins to fight later in the period after Harkins laid a hit on Dylan Cozens.

“I loved both,” Ruff said. “… [The Ducks] had a couple hard hits, but I think we answered. The group is gaining this togetherness that will allow us the confidence to try to string some games together.”

Tuch put the Sabres on the board with 1:23 left in the second period on a deflection of a shot from Power that trickled between Gibson’s pads. Peyton Krebs swarmed the blue paint to attack the loose puck, prompting a Ducks player to push it over the goal line.

Just 50 seconds later, Power broke up a pass in front of the Buffalo net and poked the puck in the direction of Zucker, who beat Gibson between the pads on a breakaway.

“We’ve just got to stick with it,” Krebs said. “I think that’s been our motto the whole season is just, we can’t get down when they score a couple goals. We did that. We stuck with it and got rewarded.”

Here’s more from the victory in Anaheim.

1. Ruff said Kulich earned the right to be on the ice for the offensive-zone faceoff that preceded his overtime goal. With Tage Thompson still out due to a lower-body injury, Kulich played at center for the second straight game and won eight of 11 faceoffs.

Kulich said he feels particularly confident when playing center, his natural position.

“I really appreciate coach trusting me and putting me [at] center,” he said. “I have more speed as a center so it’s great for me.”

2. Power’s two assists moved him ahead of Colorado’s Cale Makar for the NHL lead among defensemen with 15 even-strength points this season.

3. Luukkonen made 22 saves for his second straight win. He’s allowed two or fewer goals in six of his last seven starts.

4. The Sabres went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, improving to 7-for-7 over the last two games.

Up next

The road trip concludes in San Jose on Saturday. Coverage on MSG begins at 7:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 8.