Okposo, Robinson each has 3 points in Sabres win against Coyotes

BUFFALO -- Kyle Okposo and Eric Robinson each had a goal and two assists for the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at KeyBank Center on Monday.

Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist, Connor Clifton had two assists, and Devon Levi made 21 saves for the Sabres (12-14-3), who have points in three straight games (2-0-1).

“We're building a game now,” said Okposo, the Buffalo captain. “Now we have a template of how we need to play, how we need to work. And now we can get better from there, I think that’s the mantra, is continue to get better every night and build off that. And it’s not hard to play like that, it’s just a commitment to it. And everybody was committed tonight, and the last few. We have to make sure we have the same commitment moving forward, especially on a tough West Coast swing the next few games.”

Michael Kesselring and Michael Carcone scored for the Coyotes (13-12-2), who have lost three in a row after a five-game winning streak. Karel Vejmelka made 33 saves.

“We couldn’t make a play,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “Our execution wasn’t there. … Then when you don’t execute, you don’t possess the puck. I think we defended fairly well considering we didn’t have the puck or we couldn’t make a play with the puck."

Okposo gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 2:25 of the first period. Robinson’s shot from the slot popped up and landed in the crease, and Okposo was first to the rebound to push it into the net for his fifth goal in the past 10 games.

“Just trying to shoot more,” Okposo said. “I feel more confident in some of the plays that I’m making. And my timing I think is a little bit better, where I’m landing at the net a little bit better. As opposed to just sometimes you want it so bad, and you think work, work, work, and your brain doesn't work as well as your offensive instincts. I’m just trying to use those a little bit more and trying to use my hockey sense a little bit, coupled with my work, and it seems to have helped.”

Kesselring scored his first NHL goal to tie it 1-1 at 3:01 of the second period, taking a pass from Logan Cooley and skating into the right circle before beating Levi short side.

“I knew ‘Cools’ saw me right away, so I didn’t even need to call for it,” Kesselring said. “I knew he was going to make the play, and kind of just blacked out there. I played college hockey with Devon Levi, so it was pretty cool. But yeah, it’s obviously a special one for me. But always better when you win.”

Robinson pushed in a rebound at the crease to put Buffalo ahead 2-1 at 6:14.

“It’s been a whirlwind, obviously, but really exciting, and getting to play with ‘Okie’ and ‘Krebsy’ made it easy,” said Robinson, who was acquired Dec. 6 from the Columbus Blue Jackets. “They’ve been playing hard and straightaway talking to me all night, so that’s made the transition for me a lot easier.”

Peyton Krebs pushed the lead to 3-1 at 10:52 when he one-timed a pass from Okposo from the left circle.

JJ Peterka took the rebound of his own shot off the end boards and banked it off Vejmelka’s pad from behind the net to extend it to 4-1 at 15:06.

Carcone cut it to 4-2 with a short-handed goal from the side of the net at 12:47 of the third period, just seconds after 4-on-4 play expired.

Dahlin scored into an empty net for the 5-2 final at 18:55.

NOTES: Coyotes defenseman Sean Durzi did not play because of a lower-body injury. He is day to day. … Carcone leads the NHL with eight goals since Nov. 22. … Peterka’s goal was his 12th of the season in his 29th game, matching his total from 2022-23 (77 games). … Dahlin had his 56th career multipoint game, passing Jerry Korab for third among defenseman in Sabres history; his assist was the 203rd of his NHL career to move past Bill Hajt for sixth among defensemen in Sabres history. … Buffalo defenseman Mattias Samuelsson did not play after leaving the morning skate early with soreness. He is day to day.