Buffalo 4, Calgary 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, November 21, 2016
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees:
Trevor Hanson, Tim Peel
Linesmen:
Lonnie Cameron, Jonny Murray
Attendance:
17526
By The Sports Xchange
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The floodgates finally opened on Monday night for the offensively-challenged Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres scored three power-play goals in a span of 1:41 on their way to a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames. It was a rare and much-needed burst of creativity from the lowest-scoring team in the NHL.
"It's a lot of goals in a short amount of time for our team," Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said. "It was a couple of great plays on all three of the power-play goals to get us goals and much-needed goals."
Kyle Okposo, Johan Larsson, Matt Moulson and Marcus Foligno scored for Buffalo (7-8-4). Robin Lehner made 29 saves.
"I just think it's huge getting four goals," Okposo said. "That's a team that's coming off a back-to-back and if we played well we thought that we could get those two points and we did that."
The game turned just after the midway point of the second period. Calgary was unable to stay out of the penalty box, taking six penalties in the period.
Okposo evened the score at 1-1 at 11:27 of the second. With two Flames (Troy Brouwer and Dougie Hamilton) in the box and a five-on-three advantage for Buffalo, center Sam Reinhart found Okposo in the slot for Okposo's sixth goal of the year.
Larsson gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead 36 seconds later. With Buffalo holding a five-on-four advantage, left winger Evander Kane's long shot was deflected by Larsson into the net at 12:03.
Moulson made it 3-1 after Calgary's Troy Brouwer took his second penalty of the period. Okposo fed Moulson with a cross-ice pass, and Moulson buried his team-best seventh goal of the year at 13:08.
"I could tell we were just champing at the bit for the floodgates to open, and that second period was huge for us," said Sabres defenseman Tyler Fedun, who had two assists. "Everybody was able to take a bit of a deep breath when we started to score some goals."
Mikael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk scored for Calgary (8-12-1). Brian Elliott made 28 saves.
"It's tough. For me, it's more about finding a way to lose," Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan said. "You can't put yourself in those situations."
The penalties capped a chippy middle period for both teams. Tkachuk was given a minor penalty at 2:23 for a hit to the head of Foligno. The teams had to be separated several times; one scrum came midway through the period after Larsson jammed the puck into the net after the whistle had blown.
Tkachuk briefly got the Flames back in the game with a goal 22 seconds into the third to make it 3-2. However, the Sabres responded less than two minutes later on Foligno's fourth goal of the season. After nearly losing control of the puck following a strong deke in front of the Flames net, Foligno tucked a backhand shot from a hard angle past Elliott.
Backlund opened the scoring 5:21 into the game by finishing off a three-on-one rush by the Flames.
The loss for Calgary ended an impressive streak for Elliott against the Sabres. The Flames goalie had a career record of 11-0-2 in 13 prior games against Buffalo. Elliott has been unable to recreate that form this season and has lost his last six starts.
"We put ourselves in a bad position to kill too much tonight," Tkachuk said. "There's probably some wear and tear on some players that penalty kill a lot, so overall, just not a good game."
NOTES: The Sabres scratched D Zach Bogosian (knee sprain), D Dmitry Kulikov (lower back) and C Ryan O'Reilly (oblique). Buffalo coach Dan Bylsma said earlier Monday that O'Reilly likely would return later this week. O'Reilly told reporters that if it were the playoffs, he likely would be in the lineup but that he is being cautious for now. ... The Flames scratched RW Linden Vey and D Brett Kulak. ... Calgary backup G Chad Johnson spent parts of two seasons with the Sabres. He had a career-high 22 wins and a .920 save percentage in 45 games with Buffalo last season. ... This was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. Calgary won the first meeting with a 4-3 overtime decision.
Top Game Performances
| Calgary |
|
Buffalo |
|
Matthew Tkachuk 2 |
Points |
Kyle Okposo 2 |
|
Matthew Tkachuk 1 |
Goals |
Kyle Okposo 1 |
|
Matthew Tkachuk 1 |
Assists |
Taylor Fedun 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Kyle Okposo 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Brian Elliott .875 |
Save Percentage |
Robin Lehner .935 |
|
Brian Elliott 28 |
Saves |
Robin Lehner 29 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Calgary
|
31 |
2 |
0-2 |
3-6 |
14 |
34 |
| Buffalo
|
32 |
4 |
3-6 |
2-2 |
6 |
24 |
Upcoming Games
-
Buffalo will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Sabres have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .333 after a loss.
-
Calgary will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Flames have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .385 after a loss.
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