Seth Griffith and Jake McCabe scored goals for Buffalo. Robin Lehner made 14 saves on 16 shots in two periods of work prior to being relieved by Linus Ullmark, whose only goal against came from Derek Ryan on a breakaway in overtime.
Ryan led the way for Carolina with two goals and an assist, while Josh Jooris also found the back of the net.
McCabe's goal, which evened the score at 2-2 late in the second period, was perhaps the best example of the difference in the Sabres style under Housley. The coach told his defensemen to play loose and join the rush when possible, and McCabe jumped on an opportunity with the Sabres shorthanded.
McCabe caught a pass on the rush from another defenseman in Taylor Fedun and went far side with a shot from the left circle.
"It's one of those things where you want to have a 5-man attack," McCabe said. "When we get the green light to jump in and you feel it's the right time to jump in, you for sure should. They're barking at us on the bench to make sure we're in the offensive zone [and] defensive zone."
"I thought our D's timing up the ice was really good," Housley said. "They got involved with the play, they got involved with the rush, you could see the weak side was open on a break out and the guys joined the rush. Jake McCabe's goal was a perfect example of that."
As fun as that style may be, it also puts responsibility on the defensemen to make the correct reads as to when to jump into the play and on forwards to recognize when they need to drop back and assume a defensive role. McCabe said it's a matter of forming the right habits, and the Sabres seemed to get better at it as the game went on.
"Going forward, we'll get more comfortable with it," he said. "I think you saw at times in the offensive zone we did a really good job with it. Other times there were times where we could've done it and we didn't do it, maybe we were hesitant. It's all a comfort thing."
The Sabres established pressure consistently in the third period, with Rasmus Ristolainen in particular showing a tendency to get involved near and below the goal line. Buffalo's top line of Zemgus Girgensons, Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo was also consistent throughout the night on the forecheck.
Ultimately, the chances they did earn to break the tie in that third period fell short, including a look at an open net for C.J. Smith. Ristolainen hit Girgensons with an end-to-end pass in overtime only to see Girgensons' shot stopped by Carolina goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, and a neutral-zone turnover led to Ryan's winner shortly after.
Not the result they wanted, of course, but they'll have plenty of time to build on the loss with six preseason games still left to play.
"It was unfortunate we lost," Housley said. "I thought the guys should've got rewarded better. But you know, we'll work. We'll continue to work on our game."
