Olofsson scores twice for Sabres in win against Islanders

BUFFALO --Victor Olofsson scored the go-ahead goal with 2:55 left in the third period, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the New York Islanders 6-3 at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

Olofsson ended a 30-game drought with a shot from the right circle to give the Sabres a 4-3 lead. It was his first goal since Oct. 31. He also scored into an empty net with 26 seconds remaining for the 6-3 final.
"It's kind of a relief, I would say," Olofsson said. "It's been the toughest stretch of my career, for sure. I haven't scored in a long time, so it definitely felt good."
Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Cozens had three assists for the Sabres (16-24-8). Dustin Tokarski made 30 saves.
"I think the energy was a little bit different from previous games that we gave up the lead," Tuch said. "We didn't sit back. We didn't change our game. We said, 'Hey, you know what, (it) happens.' … We didn't have any doubts seep into our minds. I think that was really good for this group.
"And honestly, seeing 'Ollie' get that goal was huge. He's been struggling a little bit lately. He's such a positive guy, such a good teammate, and you want guys like that to break through some of those streaks because it happens to everybody. … I hope someone got the video of the whole bench because we were freaking out. It was a huge goal. Not only was it to go ahead, but for Ollie to get that, that was huge for our team."

Kyle Palmieri scored twice, and Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves for the Islanders (17-20-6), who have lost three in a row.
"It was one of those games where we found ourselves behind and having to keep coming back and tying it and tying it up," New York captain Anders Lee said. "These are games that we have to start having. They're moments that we have to start being successful in, and that's how we're going to be able to dig out of this. If this keeps happening, we're going to be on the wrong side."
Kyle Okposo gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 10:53 of the first period when he redirected Casey Fitzgerald's point shot at the left side of the net. It was Okposo's 10th goal of the season.
Palmieri tied it 1-1 at 12:06, tapping in a cross-ice pass from Anthony Beauvillier off the rush for his first goal since Nov. 16.
"That's great and all, but at the end of the day my job is to help this team win," Palmieri said. "We didn't bring our best effort tonight. We knew how big of a game it was for us. Every game is huge for us moving forward to try and climb back in this playoff race. At the end of the day, it's a loss. And we'll go back home to take on a good team in Boston (on Thursday)."
Tage Thompson scored his first NHL shorthanded goal at 1:36 of the second period. Sorokin saved Cozens' shot from the slot, but the rebound bounced to Thompson at the bottom of the right circle to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead.

Lee tied it 2-2 at 7:11 when he tipped in Zdeno Chara's shot from the top of the left face-off circle at the right side of the net.
Tuch scored with 0.6 seconds left in the second when he redirected Peyton Krebs' shot to give Buffalo a 3-2 lead.
"It was chaos," Tuch said. "I heard the bench yelling, 'Five (seconds).' When I tipped the puck, I didn't even think we were going to have enough time. It was great work."
Palmieri tied it 3-3 at 9:56 of the third period when he scored from a sharp angle.
Henri Jokiharju scored an empty-net goal at 18:55 to make it 5-3.
"Our video coaches said we gave up three chances against in the first 10 minutes of the third period," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "They had a good push in the first 10 minutes of the third, then we didn't up a chance after that. We gave up the lead, they scored a goal to tie it up in the third, then our guys elevated their compete, elevated their intensity and desire to win, and that was phenomenal to see. That was exactly what we needed."
NOTES: The Islanders are 1-17-2 when trailing after the second period and have allowed six shorthanded goals this season. … New York defenseman Sebastian Aho had an assist in 16:51 of ice time in his first game since Dec. 19. Defenseman Andy Greene was a healthy scratch. … Tuch has scored 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 16 games since being acquired by Buffalo in a trade that sent center Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. … The Sabres have scored five or more goals in consecutive games for the first time since April 4 and 6, 2019; they won 5-3 at the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.