At the Horn | Avalanche 6 - Sabres 5 (OT)

The Buffalo Sabres couldn’t survive a late Colorado Avalanche surge, falling 6-5 in overtime Thursday at Ball Arena.

Colorado scored two 6-on-5 goals late in the third to force the extra period and Devon Toews tallied the overtime winner on a breakaway.

Jason Zucker recorded his third career hat trick as part of a four-point night and reached the 400-point milestone for his career. Bowen Byram and Zach Benson also scored for Buffalo, while Tage Thompson tallied three assists.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saved 23 of 29 shots.

Toews also had two assists in a three-point effort, with his first-pair partner Cale Makar scoring two goals. In addition, Nathan MacKinnon (0+3) and Mikko Rantanen (1+1) had multi-point nights. Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin also scored for Colorado.

Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood stopped 14 of 18 shots before exiting with an injury in the third period. Mackenzie Blackwood entered in relief and allowed one goal on three shots.

Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff coached his 1,813th NHL game, breaking a tie with Barry Trotz for third most in NHL history.

First Period

A Josh Manson high-sticking minor gave Buffalo the game’s first power play; Zucker opened the scoring at 13:17, setting up at the back door and tapping in Jack Quinn’s pass from the left circle. The play was made possible by a stick lift from Zucker on Makar, which allowed Quinn's pass to get through the blue paint.

The goal gave Zucker a three-game goal streak and Thompson a four-game assist streak.

Byram doubled Buffalo’s lead at 17:10 as he received a 2-on-1 pass from Zucker, pulled the puck to his backhand and pushed it past Wedgewood’s extended left pad.

MacKinnon and Rantanen both hit the post on Colorado’s best scoring opportunities of the first period, which saw the Sabres lead 10-9 in shots on goal.

Second Period

MacKinnon appeared to get Colorado on the board at 4:56, but the Sabres successfully challenged for offsides. On the rush leading to the goal, Drouin had entered the offensive zone just barely ahead of the puck carrier Toews.

Zucker’s physicality resulted in a second Sabres power play midway through the period. He sent Colton to the ice with a firm hit, and Colton was penalized for a retaliatory cross check later that shift.

Then Zucker scored again at 11:08, redirecting Thompson’s centering pass through Wedgewood. Seven power-play goals tie a career high for Zucker and lead the Sabres this season.

Extended zone time for Colorado’s top talent ended at 14:58 with a goal by Makar, who stepped up from the point, deked around Zucker and lifted a shot between Luukkonen and the crossbar.

Continued pressure led to a Benson delay of game penalty at 17:03 and the Avalanche’s first power play, but Buffalo killed it off.

Colorado outshot the Sabres 9-7 in the period, boosted by their late push and five straight shots before the intermission.

Third Period

Colton made it a 3-2 game 1:05 into the period as he pushed a rebound through Luukkonen’s short side.

Benson restored the Sabres’ two-goal lead 22 seconds later. Avalanche forward Parker Kelly pushed Benson on top of Wedgewood’s right leg, and with the Avalanche goalie down and injured, Benson grabbed the loose puck to score on a wrap around.

A scrum ensued with Colorado unhappy about the contact on its netminder, who needed help to get off the ice. Blackwood entered in relief.

The goal was upheld despite Colorado’s challenging for goaltender interference, sending the Sabres to their third power play of the night.

Buffalo didn’t convert on the man advantage, and commited a hooking penalty while defending a shorthanded breakaway in the final seconds. A Dylan Cozens tripping call 15 seconds after that gave Colorado an extended 5-on-3.

The two-man advantage yielded a Rantanen goal at 4:17 to bring the Avalanche within a goal once again. They came up empty on their remaining minute of 5-on-4.

Yet another Zucker goal at 16:09 completed the hat trick and gave Buffalo a 5-3 lead. Zucker received Thompson’s spin-around pass from the right corner, was initially denied by Blackwood and stuck with the rebound to score.

The Avalanche pulled Blackwood around the 17:00 minute mark and scored twice – Makar with 2:26 remaining and Drouin with 6.8 seconds – to tie the game 5-5.

Overtime

The teams traded possessions before Toews scored the game winner on a breakaway just 48 seconds into the overtime period.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

The Sabres conclude their four-game road trip Saturday night in Vegas against the Golden Knights. Coverage on MSG begins at 9:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 10.