Cozens, Sabres defeat Oilers to end five-game skid

BUFFALO -- Dylan Cozens scored twice to help the Buffalo Sabres to their first win in six games, 3-2 against the Edmonton Oilers at KeyBank Center on Friday.

It was the first multigoal game in the NHL for Cozens, who was tasked with head-to-head matchups against Oilers center Connor McDavid.
"It's a big confidence boost, for sure, to go against one of the top players in the world," Cozens said. "I was excited. I wanted to be up for the challenge and it's not just me, though. The whole team played a great game and my linemates and everyone. It was a big team effort to shut them down in the third (period) there."
Anders Bjork scored, and Dustin Tokarski made 33 saves for the Sabres (6-5-2), who were 0-4-1 in their previous five.
"We love him because he competes to win," Sabres coach Don Granato said of Tokarski, who got his first win since Oct. 16. "And it hasn't worked out as much as he'd like, but I don't think that's been his doing at all. He's done his part. I think the games that he hasn't won, we didn't score enough on our side, really. He's played great the whole season, and it's nice for that reason to see him win tonight."
Leon Draisaitl scored twice to bring his NHL-leading goal total to 14, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists for the Oilers (10-3-0), who played their third game in four days. Stuart Skinner made 20 saves.
"We allowed them to score easy goals and we chased the game the whole night," Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said. "There was some effort there, but we just didn't play very smart."

Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse scored at 2:14 of the first period when his shot from low in the left face-off circle hit the left post and fluttered off Tokarski's back, but the call was overturned after a video review determined the puck did not cross the goal line.
Sabres forward Arttu Ruotsalainen tipped in a point shot from Jacob Bryson at 9:46, but the goal was overturned after a video review for a high-sticking the puck.
Bjork gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 2:16 of the second period, forcing a turnover at the Sabres blue line before scoring on a breakaway.
Draisaitl backhanded a bouncing puck from the slot on the power play to tie it 1-1 at 4:08. He then gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead at 6:57, also on the power play, from the circle off a backhand cross-ice pass from McDavid.
The assist extended McDavid's season-opening point streak to 13 games (25 points; nine goals, 16 assists).
Cozens tied it 2-2 at 13:56, skating through Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Jesse Puljujarvi after Drake Caggiula intercepted a pass from Edmonton defenseman Duncan Keith in the neutral zone.
Cozens scored on a rebound in front to give Buffalo a 3-2 lead at 19:10 after Vinnie Hinostroza was stopped on a breakaway.
"Obviously, a lot of goals are scored right around the net," Cozens said. "I've been watching lots of video with Donny and trying to find ways to get to the net and use my speed. Not always skating as fast as I can all the time. Yeah, I just tried to get the puck to the net and get rewarded sometimes."

The Oilers did not have a shot on goal in the third period until the 12:06 mark. They tested Tokarski the rest of the way and outshot the Sabres 14-4 in the period, with Tokarski making a save on McDavid in tight, stopping a Puljujarvi one-timer and making a diving save to deny Draisaitl a hat trick.
"It's not a position we want to put ourselves in night after night," Nugent-Hopkins said of playing from behind. "Last night (a 5-3 win against the Boston Bruins when they trailed three times) obviously we battled back. It was an emotional game and we found a way to come from behind, but it's not always that easy. We definitely pushed in the third tonight, but overall we need to be better in the early part of the game. It cost us tonight."
NOTES: The Sabres have won seven of their past nine games against the Oilers, including four of the past five in Buffalo. … Cozens estimated he had nine family members in attendance including his parents, who flew from Whitehorse, Yukon, to watch him in person for the first time. … McDavid's point streak matched the longest by an active NHL player (Nathan MacKinnon in 2019-20). … Draisaitl has six two-goal games this season.