Pelletier scores 1st NHL goal, sparks Flames to win against Sabres

BUFFALO --Jakob Pelletier scored his first NHL goal, and Dillon Dube had a goal and three assists for the Calgary Flames in a 7-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Tyler Toffoli had two goals and an assist, and Nazem Kadri and Dennis Gilbert each had a goal and an assist for the Flames (25-18-10), who had lost two straight and are 2-1-1 on a five-game road trip that will conclude on Monday against the Ottawa Senators. Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for his first win since Jan. 6.
"I think we've all kind of been there and felt something like that, where it just feels like everything's going right," Toffoli said. "We were doing all the little things, we were forechecking really well, and good sticks, and honestly, just doing all the little things. And we could tell that they were getting frustrated, and we just capitalized on our opportunities."

Tage Thompson scored his 35th goal of the season, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 33 saves for the Sabres (26-21-4), who are 0-2-1 following a five-game winning streak.
Buffalo was playing its first game since Feb. 1.
"They came out and just punched us in the face," Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. "They just played better than us. I didn't think we played great in the first, just a little bit rusty, but maybe a bit of a false sense of security being up two goals after the first period. Probably should've talked about it a little bit more after the first and try to get to our game. We just got pounded in the second period."
Thompson gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 7:56 of the first period with a one-timer from the left face-off circle on a power play.
Casey Mittelstadt made it 2-0 at 12:34 when he scored stick side from the right circle to end a 17-game goal drought.
Calgary then scored seven unanswered goals, including three in a span of 1:47 in the second period.
Pelletier cut it to 2-1 at 2:17. After outskating Buffalo defenseman Victor Olofsson to create a 2-on-1, he took a pass from Kadri in the slot and scored glove side.
"I think [Jonathan Huberdeau] passed to 'Naz', it was a great play," Pelletier said. "And then 'Naz', it was like a 2-on-1, was like, 'Come on 'Pelltz,' come on man, let's go.' So, I skated ... and then I shoot and score."

Pelletier, who was selected in the first round (No. 26) of the 2019 NHL Draft, was playing in his seventh NHL game.
"I've said it all along about that kid. I said it in training camp and I've said it over and over again, he's got the energy and he's got the spirit for the game," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "He's going to be a good player."
Mikael Backlund scored 20 seconds later to tie it 2-2 at 2:37. He received a pass from Blake Coleman as he skated down the right wing and cut into the right circle before scoring glove side.
Gilbert then made it 3-2 at 4:04 when he stepped into a drop pass by Dube from above the left circle for his first goal in 11 games with Calgary.
Gilbert, who is a native of Buffalo, said he had close to 100 family and friends in attendance for his first NHL game in his hometown.
"It was just a good breakout and then it got squirted over to 'Dubes' and I just jumped up in the play and I was yelling at him to drop it," Gilbert said. "Probably could've maybe walked in a little bit, but just tried to hit it hard. I'll tell my kids one day that it went bar down. They don't ask how."

Kadri deflected a Huberdeau shot in the high slot to push it to 4-2 at 7:39.
"Obviously, 'Pelltz' got us going," Toffoli said. "Obviously, excited for his first goal, and it kind of shifted the momentum a little bit, and then 'Backs' next shift and then 'Gilby' next shift. It just felt like everything kind of kept coming in waves, and we did a really good job."
Toffoli extended it to 5-2 at 1:57 of the third period on a backdoor tap-in off a pass from Dube on a rush. He then scored to make it 6-2 at 13:05 from the left circle on a power play.
Dube one-timed a tap pass from Elias Lindholm in the slot at 17:11 for the 7-2 final.
"I felt like we were pretty disconnected out there in the second and the third," Thompson said. "Not a lot of support, whether it was on the forechecks or coming out of our own end. I think if you don't support your teammates, it's going to make you feel like you're chasing the game."
NOTES:Dube had four points for the first time in 253 NHL games. … Lindholm had two assists. … Markstrom was 0-3-2 in his previous six starts. ... Thompson has 69 points (35 goals, 34 assists) in 51 games, surpassing his previous career high set last season in 78 games. … Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had one assist. He has 216 points (45 goals, 171 assists) in 327 NHL games, passing Brian Leetch and Paul Reinhart for ninth among defensemen in NHL history before the age of 23. … Backlund (one goal, five assists) and Coleman (three goals, four assists) each extended his point streak to four games. … Gilbert has two NHL goals in 36 NHL games. His first goal was Dec. 27, 2019, as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.