Recap: Ducks Earn a Point, Fall 4-3 in OT to Buffalo

The Ducks overcame a three-goal deficit but Rasmus Asplund scored in overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 win tonight at Honda Center.
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Troy Terry, Adam Henrique and Simon Benoit scored for Anaheim. Anthony Stolarz made 25 saves in his third start of the season.
Ryan Getzlaf collected an assist, his 987th career point, to move within one point of matching Teemu Selanne for the Ducks' all-time scoring lead.
The Sabres opened the scoring late in the first period. Kyle Okposo took a long shot from the above the right faceoff circle, but Stolarz couldn't corral the rebound, which bounced right to Zemgus Girgensons for the backdoor goal.
Despite directing 17 shots on net in the first period, the Ducks couldn't solve Buffalo netminder Craig Anderson and the Sabres held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Two Buffalo goals early in the middle frame, just 97 seconds apart, gave the visitors a commanding lead.
The Sabres struck first on the power play as Asplund hammered a one-timer past Stolarz for his second goal of the season.
Less than two minutes later, Anders Bjork raced down right wing, firing a shot off Arttu Ruotsalainen's glove and by Stolarz to give the Sabres a three-goal cushion.
"First period was inconsistent, had some great shifts and some not great shifts," Eakins said. "As the game went on, we got better and better."
Terry got the Ducks back in the game, finishing off a setup feed from Getzlaf. With the teams skating four-on-four, Getzlaf attacked the Buffalo line with speed before curling towards the middle of the ice and spotting Terry sprinting down right wing. Getzlaf led his winger towards the net and Terry did the rest, lifting a shot over Anderson's shoulder to bring the Ducks back within two.

The goal extended Terry's point streak to a career-best six games (3-5=8).
Anaheim kept chipping away at the deficit in the second period, eventually breaking through again to get within a goal. Henrique got to a loose puck in front of the Sabres' net, getting two scoring chances from right on the doorstep, but couldn't sneak it by Anderson. The puck eventually bounced to the corner, where Jakob Silfverberg gave Henrique another chance, floating the puck back in front for Henrique to tap it home.
"It was special," Henrique said. "I feel like I had a lot of chances the last four or five games to get that one. I had just to keep reminding myself to keep playing the right way and not get frustrated...A special night for me and my career."

The goal marked the 200th of Henrique's NHL career. With the secondary helper, Isac Lundestrom set a new career-high in assists (five).
Benoit brought the Ducks all the way back, tying the game with his first career NHL goal. Kevin Shattenkirk fed the puck to Benoit at the right point, who fired a shot through traffic and past Anderson to level the score at three.

"It was incredible," Eakins said of the young defenseman's first career goal. "I don't know if people remember but he came to development camp on a tryout. Then he got a tryout to rookie camp and then he got a tryout to main camp. Then he was able to sign an AHL contract. After a year or two, he got an NHL contract. Now, he's suddenly scoring his first goal. That kid's resilience, discipline and the amount of work he's put in is an unbelievable testament to him. Anyone that is looking to get better anywhere in their life should look at him. With his dedication and discipline, it's quite amazing."
"I've been working hard," Benoit added. "I wasn't drafted into the NHL, so I've been working really hard to get where I'm at now. That goal was really exciting."
With the lone assist on the game-tying goal, Shattenkirk has earned points in six of eight appearances this season (3-4=7).
Much like it has for the Ducks throughout the early going of the new season, the game was decided in its waning moments. Buffalo nearly took the lead with just over a minute to play in regulation, but Drake Caggiula's sharp angle shot rung off the crossbar before deflecting out of play.
Buffalo earned the extra standings point in the five-minute bonus period as Asplund slammed home a backdoor pass from Victor Olofsson.
"I liked the start of our game and our resilience to get back to tie," Henrique said. "We certainly had more opportunities to get ahead, just couldn't find that one."
The Ducks head to Vegas for their first meeting of the season with the division rival Golden Knights, tomorrow at T-Mobile Arena (5 p.m.).