"I knew that Bobrovsky was out of the net, so in my head I was just hoping that those guys didn't react in time," Okposo said. "And they didn't, and I was able to chip it over Bobrovsky's stick."
Having also assisted on Pouliot's goal, Okposo now has nine points (4+5) in his last eight games.
Ullmark lost his shutout with 6:15 remaining when, on the only power play of the game, Artemi Panarin sliced through the Buffalo penalty kill and ripped a backhand above the goalie's glove. The Sabres buckled down from that point on and sealed the win on an empty-net goal from Jack Eichel.
Looking at Ullmark's season in Rochester, it's easy to understand why Housley felt he had earned the opportunity for an NHL start. His 17 wins lead the AHL, and he received his second straight bid to the league's All-Star Game. Housley came away particularly impressed with the confidence he showed in net.
"I think he's carried that forward from Rochester," Housley said. "He's very calm, he doesn't overplay things, he's pretty tight and he's pretty square to the puck and he makes that first save and he fought through some traffic to make the second save.
"He stepped up, he was on his angle and he was challenging and you could see the confidence in his game."
Housley said he expects Ullmark - along with defenseman Brendan Guhle, who scored his first point Thursday - to return to Rochester while the Sabres have their bye week. Beyond that, it's hard to say when exactly his next opportunity will come, given that the Sabres have two goalies on their roster.
For one night in January, though, he was exactly the spark they needed.
"I was so happy we pulled it off," Ullmark said. "It's been tough, I think, for the guys up here. It's nice to come up with a win."