Kyle Okposo, Sabres power past Flames

BUFFALO -- Kyle Okposo had a goal and an assist to help the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 win against the Calgary Flames at KeyBank Center on Monday.
The Sabres took a 3-1 lead in the second period when they scored three power-play goals in 1:41. Okposo tied the game 1-1 at 11:27 of the second with a wrist shot over goalie Brian Elliott's glove for his sixth goal.
"I just think we had a little bit of time; we got some good breaks," Okposo said. "It was a bit of a smorgasbord. There was some set things that we wanted to do that weren't happening, so we were improving and using our hockey sense. Sometimes that's the way it happens."

WATCH: All Flames vs. Sabres highlights
Johan Larsson tipped a shot from Evander Kane past Elliott to make it 2-1 36 seconds after Okposo's goal, and Matt Moulson took a pass from Okposo and shot it past Elliott at 13:08 to make it 3-1.
"It's a lot of goals in a short amount of time for our team," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "It was a couple of great plays on all three of the power play goals to get us goals and much-needed goals."
Moulson's goal was his sixth on the power play, tying him with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber for the NHL lead.
"It's nice. I think fans probably enjoyed it; a good way to get a win," Moulson said.

Flames rookie forward Matthew Tkachuk cut the Sabres lead to 3-2 when he scored 22 seconds into the third period, tipping a shot from defenseman Dougie Hamilton past goalie Robin Lehner, but Buffalo's Marcus Foligno scored to make it 4-2 1:51 later with a backhand shot past Elliott.
"We put ourselves in a bad position to kill too much tonight," Tkachuk said. "There's probably some wear and tear on some players [who are on the penalty kill a lot], so overall, just not a good game."
The Sabres (7-8-4) have won two games in a row, and the Flames (8-12-1) have lost two of three.
Mikael Backlund gave Calgary a 1-0 lead with his third goal at 5:21 of the first period.
Sabres defenseman Taylor Fedun had two assists to extend his point streak to three games. He has four points in his first three games with Buffalo.
"If anything, it's a nice, positive reinforcement for what I consider to be the right way of playing the game," Fedun said. "I keep things fairly simple and move pucks to our forwards, and I've been having success with that."

Goal of the game

Foligno was able to control the puck with his back to the net, and his backhand shot eluded Elliott to put the Sabres ahead by two goals in the third period after the Flames had cut their lead to one 1:51 earlier.

Save of the game

Lehner made a glove save on Flames defenseman Mark Giordano's wrist shot through traffic from the top of the left faceoff circle with 1:04 remaining in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Moulson scored the game-winning goal after Okposo threaded a pass from the right faceoff dot to the bottom of the left circle.

Unsung moment of the game

Trailing 4-2, Calgary had a flurry of shot attempts early in the third period but couldn't beat Lehner. The Sabres goalie lost his stick trying to cover the puck after making a save on Tkachuk at 5:45, but Giordano had his shot deflected and Hamilton shot wide from the left faceoff circle. Backlund shot over the net at 6:07, and Buffalo was able to clear the zone after Lehner made a save on Hamilton's shot from the right point at 6:14.

They said it

"I just think it's huge getting four goals. That's a team that's coming off a back-to-back, and if we played well, we thought that we could get those two points, and we did that. We executed our game plan and were able to get two big points. So hopefully we can take that confidence into Wednesday and roll with it." -- Sabres right wing Kyle Okposo
"Obviously, special teams again was a big issue. But we had a 5-on-3; we had a lot of good looks, got back to within one early in the third. There's no excuse for us to let it slip away again. I don't think we were good all night. We were pretty loose in the first. Obviously, the second is what it is, with all the penalties, but we still had an opportunity, and it's disappointing we gave them a two-goal cushion after we were battling to get back in it."-- Flames captain Mark Giordano

Need to know

Lehner made 29 saves. ... Elliott made 28 saves and has lost his past six starts. It was his first regulation loss against Buffalo (11-1-2). … The three goals in 1:41 were the Sabres' fastest three since April 3, 1998, when they scored three in 1:08 against the Boston Bruins. … Okposo's 5-on-3 goal was Buffalo's first since Feb. 15, 2015.

What's next

Flames: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Sabres: Home against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-D+, NHL.TV)