Postgame Report | Tuch scores twice, but Sabres' rally falls short

Alex Tuch scored his second goal of the game with 21.4 seconds remaining to pull the Sabres within punching distance of the Seattle Kraken, but the comeback fell short in a 4-3 loss inside KeyBank Center on Tuesday.
The Sabres held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first two periods but were unable to capitalize on their chances against Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer during an 18-shot third.
Matty Beniers scored for Seattle to break a 2-2 tie just 1:06 into the third. Justin Schultz added what would stand as the winning goal 4:11 later.
The Sabres finished with a 35-22 advantage in shots.
"I think they capitalized and we didn't, honestly," Tuch said. "I thought we had some momentum for the majority of the game and when we kind of sat back a little bit, got a little frustration, left some spots open in the D zone and that's when they capitalized."

The loss was the second in as many days for the Sabres, who were 8-1-0 in nine games prior. Whereas coach Don Granato felt their 4-0 loss to the Flyers on Monday was uncharacteristic in terms of execution, he attributed the result Tuesday to simply a lack of finishing.

"I think we had enough chances to put more on the board and that was the difference for me," he said.
Rasmus Dahlin scored a power-play goal for the Sabres while Dylan Cozens and Jeff Skinner each had two assists. Eric Comrie, returning from an absence of nearly three months stemming from a lower-body injury, made 18 saves.
Seattle, meanwhile, won its sixth straight game, having scored at least six goals in each of them.
"That's a really, really good hockey team, obviously," Granato said. "They took advantage of a few opportunities. We had enough, generated enough chances that we could've won, all the way to end."

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How it happened

PERIOD 1
Tage Thompson connected with Tuch at 9:56 to open the scoring. Thompson received a pass from Skinner, deked his way past Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson, and hit Tuch with a pass through the paint.

Seattle tied the game with 1:08 remaining, seven seconds into its first power play. Andre Burakovsky kept the puck in at the offensive blue line and tossed it toward the net. Jordan Eberle deflected it in.
PERIOD 2
Dahlin buried a shot from the point to put the Sabres back in front on their third power play of the night.

The Kraken had another response, this time in the form of a Yanni Gourde tap-in from in front of the net set up by defenseman Schultz.
PERIOD 3
Beniers scored for Seattle to break the tie just 1:06 into the period. Vince Dunn took a shot from the point that deflected off the post and then off of bodies in front. Beniers dove and pushed it over the goal line.
Schultz buried a one-timer on the rush to add to the Kraken lead 4:11 later.
The Sabres pushed for the remainder of the period but were unable beat Grubauer until Tuch's goal with 21.4 seconds on the clock. Thompson nearly pulled them within one on a power play four minutes earlier, but his one-timer hit the crossbar.

What we learned

1. The Sabres instituted changes to their lineup after the loss to Philadelphia on Monday. Comrie and Henri Jokiharju both returned from injuries while Vinnie Hinostroza and Rasmus Asplund stepped in at forward for JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn.
2. Comrie played his first NHL game since he sustained a lower-body injury on November 16. He had played three games during a conditioning stint in Rochester and was activated from injured reserve on Monday.
Sabres coach Don Granato said Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had been slated to start against the Kraken but fell ill Tuesday morning. Comrie was asked afterward if he felt fully up to speed.
"It's gonna take time," he said. "This is my first game in a long time in the NHL. You're not just stepping into the easiest environment in the world. I mean, you're stepping into the best league in the world. Yeah, I felt fine but there's still a feeling I wasn't quite all there, if you know what I mean."
3.Jokiharju joined the lineup in place of Jacob Bryson and skated 21:08. Casey Fitzgerald was placed on waivers Tuesday afternoon to make room for Jokiharju on the 23-man roster.
4.Asplund and Hinostroza both played for the first time in nine games. Granato emphasized the importance of giving the rookies Quinn and Peterka a breather, particularly at a time when the Sabres are playing four games a week.
"We think that will help them take a step back, take a breather," Granato said.
Asplund skated 12:54 and drew the penalty that preceded Dahlin's power-play goal. Hinostroza recorded four shots in 14:46.
5.Asplund put the team first when asked about his long absence from the lineup.
"It's been challenging for sure but winning is the most important thing we have here," he said. "That's what we come here every day for is to win. And you know, we want to be in the race for the playoffs until the last game. So, as long as we're winning, you just have to be ready when the chance pops up to play again."
6.Dahlin matched his career high with 13 goals in just his 38th game this season. He reached that mark in 80 games last season.

Up next

The homestand concludes Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. Tickets are on sale.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7 on MSG and WGR 550.