At the Horn | Sabres 3 - Blue Jackets 2 (OT)

Casey Mittelstadt scored the tying goal with 8:08 remaining and Jeff Skinner added the winner at 1:20 of overtime to clinch a 3-2 victory for the Buffalo Sabres over the Columbus Blue Jackets inside KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Jack Quinn also scored for the Sabres, who finished with a 42-20 edge in shots but trailed 2-1 prior to Mittelstadt’s goal. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves.  

Damon Severson and Adam Fantilli scored goals for Columbus. Daniil Tarasov made 39 saves.

Sabres coach Don Granato was unavailable for the game due to an illness and is expected to be absent again for Sunday’s game in Ottawa, general manager Kevyn Adams said. Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert assumed Granato’s duties behind the bench.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 19:47 – Damon Severson from Dmitri Voronkov and Yegor Chinakov (1-0, CBJ)

The Sabres controlled play for much of the first period, earning lopsided advantages in shots (12-7) and shot attempts (24-11). The Blue Jackets were the first to capitalize, carrying a 1-0 lead into intermission after Severson forced a turnover at the offensive blue line and cut to the net to bury a rebound.

Period 2, 0:40 – Jack Quinn from Dylan Cozens and Owen Power (1-1)

Buffalo stayed aggressive coming out of the break. The trio of Peterka, Cozens, and Quinn – who had created multiple scoring chances during the first period – spent the opening 40 seconds in the Columbus zone until Quinn pulled a rebound from the edge of the crease and sent a quick shot past Tarasov.

Period 2, 13:45 – Adam Fantilli from Justin Danforth and Cole Sillinger (2-1, CBJ)

The Blue Jackets pulled back in front after killing off the Sabres’ first power play of the night. Fantilli emerged from the penalty box on a 2-on-1 rush and buried a spinning feed from Danforth.

The Sabres had a 15-6 edge in shots during the second period but trailed again going into intermission.

Period 3, 8:08 – Casey Mittelstadt from Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson (2-2)

Mittelstadt scored the tying goal on Buffalo’s 35th shot of the night, a wrister from the right circle that beat Tarasov to his blocker side. The goal was Mittelstadt’s team-leading 31st point this season.

Overtime, 1:20 – Jeff Skinner from Owen Power and Tage Thompson (3-2)

Thompson stickhandled around Danforth and backhanded a shot off the outside post before finding Power, who fed Skinner in the slot for a one-timer to secure the two points.

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The Sabres conclude the back-to-back set in Ottawa on Sunday. Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 5:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WBEN 930 AM.