Recap: Rough Third Period Sinks Ducks in 3-2 Loss to Sabres

The Ducks could not preserve a third-period lead in tonight's road trip finale, falling 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.

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The loss ended Anaheim's season-best point streak at five games and dropped the club to 25-25-7 on the season.

Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish each scored power-play goals, helping the Ducks to a 2-0 advantage through 40 minutes. Jackson LaCombe, Troy Terry, Pavel Mintyukov and Isac Lundestrom collected assists. Lukas Dostal made 32 stops in his 35th game of the season.

JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch and Henri Jokiharju each netted third-period goals for the home side, helping Buffalo improve to 24-27-5. Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen earned the win between the pipes with 16 saves.

Much like Anaheim's game Sunday night in Detroit, the evening would get started with a quickly successful 5-on-3 power play - and this time with the Ducks on the right side of the aisle. With Buffalo's Jordan Greenway and captain Rasmus Dahlin both in the penalty box, Lacombe feathered a cross-seam pass through the Sabres defense, putting it in perfect position for a McTavish one-timer that beat Luukkonen to the short side post.

With forward Trevor Zegras sidelined by a three-game suspension, McTavish pivoted to the wing tonight alongside Carlsson and Alex Killorn. The goal was McTavish's 14th of the season, third among team leaders, and his 10th point in the last 11 games.

LaCombe has notched four assists in Anaheim's first three games after the 4 Nations Face-Off break, and now owns 28 points in 50 appearances this season - the most by a Ducks defenseman through 50 games since Sami Vatanen in 2014-15. The 24-year-old leads Ducks blueliners in points, goals and assists in his second NHL campaign.

Carlsson then doubled the Anaheim lead early in the middle frame with another one-timer on the power play, this one a setup from Mintyukov in the middle of the ice as the Buffalo defense scrambled to get back into position.

Carlsson has earned six points with a +7 rating in his last six games and has found the scoresheet in each of his last four outings. Carlsson's 23 career goals are the second-most by a Duck prior to their 21st birthday, trailing only McTavish.

The helper was Lundestrom's third career power-play point and his first of the season.

Ducks defenseman Brian Dumoulin briefly left the game late in the second period, following an awkward collision into the boards in front of the Buffalo bench, but returned for the start of the third. Dumoulin is one of just four Ducks, and the lone defenseman, to appear in all 57 of the team's games this season.

Buffalo would claim control in the third though, scoring three times in the first 10 minutes of the third period to take a 3-2 lead.

The first went to Peterka, as the Sabres made the Ducks pay for defensive zone turnover on a backdoor pass from Dylan Cozens. Tuch scored a few shifts later, banking a centering attempt from below the goal line off Dostal's skate and over the line.

Jokiharju then gave Buffalo it's first lead with 10 minutes to go in regulation, picking his spot over Dostal's glove and under the crossbar from right wing for what ultimately became the game-winning goal.

The Ducks begin a two-game homestand Thursday against Vancouver.