The Buffalo Sabres walked away with a point Saturday afternoon, but they had to earn it the hard way. In a game that had more twists than a playoff thriller, the Sabres clawed back from a sluggish start before ultimately falling 5-4 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild at KeyBank Center. Mats Zuccarello netted the game-winner on a 4-on-3 power play, capping off a wild, momentum-swinging affair that saw both teams trade punches - literally and figuratively.
Let’s start with the comeback. Down 3-1 midway through the second period, the Sabres looked out of sync.
They had just seven shots on goal and were getting outskated by a Minnesota team that sits third in the NHL standings. But then the energy shifted.
Peyton Krebs gave the home crowd something to cheer about, tipping in his fourth goal of the season to cut the deficit to one. Just 87 seconds later, Jack Quinn buried one to tie it up, and suddenly the Sabres had life.
Alex Tuch kept the surge going, sniping a power-play goal over Filip Gustavsson’s shoulder to give Buffalo a 4-3 lead. The building was buzzing.
But it didn’t last long. Quinn Hughes answered late in the second with a rocket past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, sending both teams into the third tied at 4-4.
From there, it was a grind. Neither side could fully seize control, and as Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff put it, “It was really a back-and-forth affair where you couldn’t capture momentum for more than probably two or three minutes.”
Luukkonen did his part to keep Buffalo in it, stopping 10 shots in the third and finishing with 30 saves on the night. He was sharp under pressure, especially in the final frame, helping the Sabres drag this one into overtime.
But then came the dagger.
A late hooking penalty on Krebs - one he clearly didn’t agree with - gave Minnesota a 4-on-3 advantage in overtime. The Sabres nearly killed it off, with Mattias Samuelsson making what looked like a clutch clear.
But Gustavsson made a heads-up stretch pass to catch the Sabres on a line change, and with tired legs still on the ice, the Wild capitalized. Zuccarello finished the odd-man rush, and just like that, the game was over.
“That’s brutal,” Krebs said after the game, still frustrated with the call that put him in the box. Ruff echoed the sentiment, praising the kill effort and noting that Minnesota didn’t even register a shot on goal during the power play until the final sequence.
“Our guys were dead tired,” Ruff said. “I mean, we had an unbelievable kill going to that point.
I don’t think we gave them a shot.”
Despite the gut-punch ending, there were positives to take away - and in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race, every point matters. The Sabres’ power play continues to trend in the right direction, now converting at a 36 percent clip over the last three games (5-for-14). Quinn has caught fire with four goals in his last five outings, and Tuch extended his point streak to seven games, tallying five goals and three assists during that stretch.
“Not our best game all around,” Quinn admitted, “but great job of fighting our way back and staying with it and getting a point.”
Kesselring Makes an Impact in Return
Saturday also marked the return of defenseman Michael Kesselring, who hadn’t played since December 31 due to an ankle injury. And he wasted no time getting involved.
Just two minutes in, he rang a shot off the post. Later in the first, things got heated after Kesselring laid a hit on Hughes.
Marcus Foligno took exception, and the two were ready to drop the gloves behind the play - only for Ryan McLeod to score during the delay. Both players got minors, but when they came out of the box, they settled things the old-fashioned way.
“Awesome job,” Ruff said of Kesselring’s return. “He was trying to make his presence felt; I thought he did, right off the bat. Marcus is a big, strong kid, and to take him on, I give kudos to him.”
Kesselring logged 10:16 of ice time with a plus-one rating, two hits, a blocked shot, and nine penalty minutes. He’s still looking for his first point in a Sabres uniform, but his physical presence was undeniable.
He also took a heavy punch from David Jiricek in the second period that left his nose bloodied. After review, the officials only assessed a minor penalty, much to the dismay of the home crowd.
Luukkonen’s Home Streak Snapped
Luukkonen had been a fortress at KeyBank Center, winning seven straight home starts heading into Saturday. That streak came to an end, but he still turned in a solid performance against a relentless Wild attack.
Minnesota made life tough all afternoon, parking bodies in front and generating 21 high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. Luukkonen stood tall for most of it, and his season numbers at home - 8-1-1 with a .914 save percentage and 2.38 goals-against average - still speak for themselves.
“Personally, for me, I want to make more saves, I want to help the team to win,” Luukkonen said. “One-goal games, you always think to yourself, ‘Well, only one more save here and there, and we would’ve won the game.’ But it’s on me, it’s on the team, to limit those scoring chances and win those games.”
What’s Next
The Sabres now hit the road for a five-game stretch, starting Monday afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drop is set for 1:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on TNT, truTV, and streaming on HBO Max.
If Saturday’s game was any indication, this team has no quit - and that kind of resilience will be key as the playoff race tightens.