Utah scores 5 unanswered, tops slumping Sabres

BUFFALO -- Michael Kesselring had a goal and an assist for the Utah Hockey Club when they handed the Buffalo Sabres their sixth straight loss with a 5-2 win at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

"It's good for the confidence," Kesselring said. "I felt like we've played good the last five or six games now, so keeping the momentum going."

Utah scored five unanswered goals, and Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves for Utah (11-11-4). Andre Tourigny got his 100th win as an NHL coach.

"It feels like an important win," Tourigny said. "I think it was good, important for us to start that trip the right way. We had a good break. We had five days off, so it's always tough to get going after that. I like the way the guys played, especially the first two (periods)."

Tyson Kozak scored his first NHL goal, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves for the Sabres (11-13-3), who have been outscored 21-11 in their past six games (0-4-2).

"My job is to get them out of it," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "That's my job. That's on me, to get them out of it, to stay with the process. Don't deviate. Even just that small play, don't go offside. I mean, this is mentally one of the weakest games I've seen, where you go offside that number of times. You don't execute the small plays. …

"Getting it out of our zone has been a big deal. We've talked about it, get it out of your zone. We turned two pucks over on two goals, that it's on our tape, and it results in a goal. So, the execution part and us executing at a high level was not good."

Kozak gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 10:14 of the first period, redirecting a pass from Beck Malenstyn at the front of the net under Vejmelka's left arm. Kozak had a goal overturned in his NHL debut against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Kesselring tied it 1-1 at 3:18 of the second period, beating Luukkonen top corner from the high slot.

"Scored a big goal, he skated well," Tourigny said of Kesselring. "He skated the puck out of trouble a few times and I like the fact he did not try to complicate his game a lot. And on the other side of the red line, I think he did a good job."

Mikhail Sergachev made it 2-1 Utah 24 seconds later on a wrist shot from the left point. Luukkonen was out of position after Sabres defenseman Dennis Gilbert knocked Michael Carcone into the goalie.

Nick Schmaltz, who had what appeared to be the game's opening goal overturned in the first period after a coach's challenge for goaltender interference, put Utah ahead 3-1 at 19:08. Luukkonen made an acrobatic save on Schmaltz, who was on the doorstep to push in the rebound.

"I think we just stayed on them, and we managed the puck pretty well," Kesselring said of the second period. "Took advantage of our chances and kind of got the momentum and kept it."

Jack McBain extended it to 4-1 at 2:11 of the third period. Logan Cooley drove down the left side before centering a pass to McBain in front, who lifted it over Luukkonen.

Kevin Stenlund took a pass from Olli Maatta in the right circle to make it 5-1 at 12:07.

Jiri Kulich scored at 17:40 for the 5-2 final on a rebound of Owen Power's point shot in front of the net.

"I think we've actually, in [the losing streak], played some really good hockey. Tonight wasn't one of those games," Sabres forward Jason Zucker said. "I think we've played a couple of really good games that we lost, and it seems we get away from that game following it for whatever reason.

"… But we can't be about moral victories and playing well and being ok playing well and losing. We're not playing well enough and we're definitely not playing consistent enough, and that's on us in this room. We've got to fix it."

NOTES: Kesselring was playing in his 100th NHL game. … Kesselring and Sergachev's goals were the third time this season that Utah has scored twice in less than 25 seconds also (17 seconds on Nov. 13; 20 seconds on Oct. 8). … Utah won for the first time this season when trailing after the first period (1-4-0). … Utah allowed a goal in the first period for the first time in eight games. … Kozak, a seventh-round pick (No. 193) by the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Draft, is the first player selected in the sixth-round or later of that draft to score an NHL goal.