Zucker scores hat trick, but Sabres drop back-and-forth game to Avs in OT

DENVER, Colo. – Bowen Byram encapsulated the array of emotions felt by the Buffalo Sabres in an eventful 6-5 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Byram, playing for the first time as a visitor against the team with whom he won the Stanley Cup three years ago, was the recipient of a warm first-period tribute and followed it by scoring to give his current team a two-goal lead.

Two periods, nine combined goals, one emotional injury stoppage, and two costly penalties later, the Sabres defenseman was more focused on a disappointing outcome than his memorable start.

“Whenever you can contribute to helping your team win, it’s a great feeling,” Byram said. “But obviously the end of the game overshadows that.”

Jonathan Drouin scored the tying goal for the Avalanche with 6.8 seconds remaining in regulation, one final turn on a rollercoaster of a game that saw the Sabres lead 3-0 early in the second period and 5-3 with 3:51 left to play.

The Avalanche rode that momentum into overtime, where Devon Toews scored the winner on a breakaway 48 seconds in.

Jason Zucker scored a hat trick as part of a season-best, four-point night. Tage Thompson had three assists to extend his point streak to five games while Zach Benson added a timely, unorthodox goal early in the third period (more on that below).

“You play a game like that, nine out of 10 times you’re gonna win a hockey game,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We played a hell of a game. We battled hard.”

Here’s the breakdown of a back-and-forth game and the seven momentum swings that decided it.

1. Zucker notched his first two points to help the Sabres build a 2-0 lead in the first period. He opened the scoring with a power-play goal, lifting the stick of defenseman Cale Makar to receive a pass through the blue paint from Jack Quinn, which he tapped in behind goaltender Scott Wedgewood.

Zucker later threaded a pass through to Byram to set up the defenseman’s goal late in the period.

2. The Avalanche appeared to cut into the lead early in the second period when Nathan MacKinnon banked a shot in off of Byram’s skate, but a successful offside challenge by the Sabres took the goal off the board.

Instead, Zucker’s second power-play goal extended the Sabres’ lead to 3-0. Once again, the veteran forward got to the net-front, this time tapping in a feed from Thompson.

The goal was Zucker’s seventh on the power play this season, tying a career high.

3. Colorado’s first response came just 3:50 later. During an extended shift in the Buffalo end, Makar deked his way into shooting position and picked the far-side corner. The 3-1 score held into the second intermission, but not much longer.

Ross Colton cut the Sabres’ lead to 3-2 just 1:05 into the third period, burying a rebound off of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s pad to end what had been a strong forechecking shift by the Avalanche.

4. It took just 22 seconds for the Sabres to answer in the form of Benson’s goal – a moment that stirred emotions on the Colorado bench and among the raucous crowd of 18,081.

Wedgewood was left injured after Benson was pushed into the goaltender by Avalanche forward Parker Kelly. Officials did not whistle the play dead with Wedgewood down on the ice, leaving Benson to score a wrap-around attempt into the open net.

“You play to the whistle,” Benson said. “Obviously I hope he’s OK. I had no intent at all to crash into him. I got hit on top of him and I’m gonna play to the whistle.”

A lengthy scrum ensued, followed by an even lengthier argument from Colorado coach Jared Bednar, who believed the play should have been blown dead with Wedgewood injured. Bednar then challenged unsuccessfully for goaltender interference.

The failed challenge gave the Sabres, suddenly up 4-2, a chance to extend their lead on the power play.

5. The Avalanche managed to flip the script while on the penalty kill. Logan O’Connor drew a hooking call against Alex Tuch on a shorthanded breakaway, then Makar drew a tripping call against Dylan Cozens to turn what had been a 5-on-4 advantage for the Sabres into a 5-on-3 power play for the Avalanche.

Mikko Rantanen buried a one-timer with the two-man advantage, cutting the Sabres’ lead to 4-3 with 15:43 still left to play.

“We knew that would give them life,” Ruff said. “We talked about discipline. Our discipline was good. That 5-on-3 was just a killer. That gave the building life, it gave them life.”

6. The Sabres were determined not to sit back the way they had in their previous meeting with the Avalanche, a 5-4 loss in Buffalo on Dec. 3. The Sabres led that game 4-1 to open the third period but lost in regulation.

“We spent a lot of time trying to make sure the same thing didn’t happen,” Ruff said. “We were gonna have push, we were gonna try to play in the offensive zone, we weren’t gonna back off."

Buffalo allowed just one shot in the 10-plus minutes that followed Rantanen’s goal. Zucker completed his hat trick with 3:51 remaining, once again scoring from the blue paint.

“They’re a great team,” Zucker said. “We knew they were gonna have a push. I like that we answered back. I think it would have been nice to be a little bit more detailed in our 6-on-5 and not lose so many pucks. I thought that definitely hurt us.”

7. Colorado scored twice with goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood pulled for an extra attacker, beginning when Makar buried a one-timer with 2:26 remaining.

Still, the Sabres came within seconds of sealing the victory. Beck Malenstyn blocked a shot by Rantanen, but the Avalanche regained possession and set up a one-timer for Drouin to tie the game with 6.8 seconds on the clock.

“You play winning hockey the whole game,” Ruff said. “Just a little bit of composure at the end is all you needed.”

Up next

The road trip concludes Saturday in Las Vegas. Coverage on MSG begins at 9:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 10.