20191007-skinner-goal-at-the-buzzer

The Buffalo Sabres made the most of their offensive chances Monday night, and as limited as they may have been - especially in the third period - they were able to force overtime and earn a point against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Victor Olofsson scored the fifth goal of his career and his third of the season - how else? - on the power play, of course. The rookie tied the game with 1:14 remaining in regulation with Buffalo on the man advantage.
But Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno forced a turnover in overtime and fed forward Alexandre Texier for the game-winning goal with 2:52 left in the extra period to give Columbus the 4-3 victory at Nationwide Arena.

Marcus Johansson and Jeff Skinner also scored for Buffalo. It was Johansson's first as a Sabre and Skinner's second of the year. Linus Ullmark, making his season debut between the pipes, made 40 saves on 44 shots. Buffalo was outshot 44-18 on the night.

How it happened

The Blue Jackets scored twice at the end of the first period to take a 2-0 lead. First, Oliver Bjorkstrand capitalized on a rebound off the end boards to beat Ullmark on a tight angle with 1:51 remaining.
Then, on the power play with 54.6 seconds left, Cam Atkinson fired in a one-timer to give Columbus a two-goal edge heading into the intermission.
Buffalo bounced back in the second period with a pair of goals of their own.
Johansson fired in a power-play one-timer of his own just 1:32 into the period. He snapped in a quick cross-ice pass from defenseman Colin Miller to cut the deficit to one.
Then Skinner tied the game when he stripped the puck from defenseman Ryan Murphy and beat Joonas Korpisalo with 8:02 remaining in the second.
Columbus regained the lead 6:46 into the third when Nick Foligno put home a bouncing puck on the power play. Columbus finished the game 2-for-3 with the man advantage.
Then Olofsson one-timed a pass in from Rasmus Dahlin to not only tie the game, but also give everyone a discount at Moe's tomorrow.

What it means

The Sabres showed once again this season that they won't back down from a fight. Columbus didn't allow much in the offensive zone all night and Buffalo still managed to find a way.
It was a tough test for Buffalo and one head coach Ralph Krueger correctly predicted would be a tight one-goal game.
Buffalo drops to 2-0-1 on the season and the Blue Jackets pick up their first win of the year.

Roll the highlight film

Skinner might be wanted in the state of Ohio for pickpocketing. Here's his game-tying goal mid-way through the second period:

BUF@CBJ: Skinner steals puck, nets wrist shot

Going back to the midway point of the first period, Ullmark stopped Alexander Wennberg on a shorthanded breakaway to keep the Columbus off the board:

BUF@CBJ: Ullmark denies Wennberg's breakaway chance

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for full postgame coverage.

What's next

Buffalo will return to practice on Tuesday and then open up a three-game homestand on Wednesday when the Montreal Canadiens come to town. It's a 7 p.m. faceoff with the GMC Game Night pregame show going live at 6:30.
All fans in attendance will receive a Golden Season magnet schedule.