Late game heroics saved the Sabres from enduring what threatened to be an agonizing loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Three days removed from an embarrassing collapse in Toronto, Buffalo almost coughed up another one as they surrendered a big third period goal to Detroit that sent some of the near-19,000 in attendance fleeing from the KeyBank Center.
They missed an impressive show by Ryan O’Reilly. With just over four minutes left in regulation, O’Reilly brought the puck from one end of the ice to the other, eventually navigating the back of the Detroit net and flipping a backhand over Red Wings’ netminder Petr Mrazek for his ninth goal on the year.
“I came around the net, looking for Okposo, trying to find some space, but they took him away, so taking the shot is my only option,” said O’Reilly on the goal, that deadlocked the game at two with time winding down. “I was just trying to get it over, trying to get it up as high as I can, make it tough on Mrazek; I’m just glad it went in. It’s tough for anyone, I’m just lucky that it came around the top.”
He and the rest of his team had to overcome more adversity early in overtime. His stick broke early in the sudden-death period, forcing Buffalo into a 3-on-2 kill before Okposo took a hooking penalty to stop a break on Sabres’ goaltender Anders Nilsson.
But Buffalo stymied the Detroit advantage long enough to find their own power play in the overtime. Okposo netted retribution with under thirty seconds to play, catching a pass while in the crease and turning to toss a backhand past Mrazek. The goal was Okposo’s 14th this year, and Buffalo’s second on the night during the power play.
“We look at our players, and we have a lot of guys that can make a difference on the power play,” said O’Reilly. “We know that going into it, and we’ve had success; we’re confident. If we compete, we’re going to find our chances. You give the puck to anyone, and they’re going to make a good play. It’s nice to have that confidence.”
The first power play goal came on a bit of a peculiar moment late in the opening period. A shot from afar by Jack Eichel bounced off Mrazek and was eventually kicked toward the net by Sam Reinhart, but just as the puck neared the red line, both Reinhart and a Red Wings player made contact with the puck using their sticks.
The referee almost immediately waved off the goal, but after a very brief video review, the call was reversed and the Sabres had their first on the night.
“I knew right away that I got a touch on it,” said Reinhart, whose last four goals have all come on the power play. “So I wasn’t too worried about it. It was still nice to see it overturned, though.”
The reversal on the call likely turned out more inspiring than at first glance, as the Sabres and Red Wings remained deadlocked 1-1 for the next 31 minutes of action. Both netminders were stellar between the pipes; Mrazek stopped 34 of Buffalo’s 37 shots, while Nilsson fended off 32 on way to his eighth win this season.
Detroit goals came from Frans Nielsen (5th) a little more than midway through the first period, on the power play, and from Darren Helm (5th) at 13:38 in the third.
But a late 2-1 deficit proved incapable of petrifying the Sabres, tonight, even when things went awry at the tail end.
“A big kill in the third period, I thought we did a good job, and a obviously overtime–that kill was awesome,” said Okposo post game. “We kept the chances to a minimum, and it was awesome to see. I’m sitting there in the box, trying to do everything I can to take my mind off of what’s going on, but I was able to come out and get the winner.”
Buffalo can carry some momentum now into the second of a back-to-back tomorrow evening when the hit the road to visit the Montreal Canadiens. That game–a 7:00 EST start–will be the first meeting between the two clubs since the Sabres’ opening night back on October 13th, when Montreal skated away with a 4-1 victory.
With Eichel back in the lineup, a reinvigorated Buffalo squad have potential to redeem themselves twice in as many nights.
They’re back in action tomorrow as they start a four game road trip with the first against the Montreal Canadiens. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. puck drop.