Dahlin, Sabres rally to defeat Flyers

BUFFALO --Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist, and the Buffalo Sabres rallied twice to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Kyle Okposo scored his 20th of the season, Tage Thompson had the game-winning goal, and Craig Anderson made 18 saves for the Sabres (28-38-11), who have won two of three.
"The first period we were emotional and frustrated, so [coach] Don [Granato] was talking a lot about how we have to come back and not be emotional," Dahlin said. "We have to use our emotion to our advantage, so that's what we did and [played] a great second period. We came back and battled [in] the third so it was a good game."
Joel Farabee, Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny scored, and Martin Jones made 25 saves for the Flyers (23-41-11), who have lost nine of 11.
"We didn't play well enough, that's the bottom line, [in] a number of different areas," Philadelphia coach Mike Yeo said. "I think you saw our execution, the number of missed passes, the decision-making at different times. I also felt we played it very easy, tried to play an easy game. A lot of poke-and-hope and swinging in our game, and against a team that has an awful lot of skill in their lineup."

Farabee gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 1:41 of the first period, poking in a rebound after Bobby Brink was stopped on a breakaway, and Tippett extended it to 2-0 at 3:55 when he scored with a backhand off a loose puck in the slot.
Okposo cut it to 2-1 at 3:17 of the second period, scoring on the power play off a cross-ice pass from Peyton Krebs.
"It's a nice number, for sure," Okposo said. "It's my first time in Buffalo doing that. … It's been just a ton of fun playing with these guys. 'Donny' came in and allowed me to just play free and use the skills that got me here and that I've used my whole career. Definitely a nice feather in the cap."

Dahlin tied it 2-2 at 8:27 on a delayed penalty when Jeff Skinner spotted him pinching in the right circle.
Konecny gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead at 14:06, driving down the right wing and scoring over the glove of Anderson.
Vinnie Hinostroza tied it 3-3 at 15:36, hustling to get to a loose puck in the slot to end a nine-game goal drought.
Thompson gave the Sabres a 4-3 lead at 17:58 of the second period, settling a pass from Casey Mittelstadt in the left circle before scoring short side on the power play.
"We're just not working as a unit," Konecny said. "We're kind of spreading out the ice and not working together and it just kind of makes everything harder on the [defense], harder on the forwards. Just kills momentum.
"And then 'Joner' has to stand on his head to try to keep us in it until we get back doing the right things. It's on us to fix that, nobody else. You've just got to go out there and try to straighten out the mistakes and get back on track or else the game gets away from you."

NOTES: The Flyers are 3-2-1 in games after being shut out. Philadelphia lost 4-0 to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. … Dahlin has 37 assists, a career high. … Okposo reached 20 goals for the first time since he scored 22 with the New York Islanders in 2015-16. … The Sabres have won four in a row against the Flyers for the first time since winning five straight from Oct. 10, 2001, to Oct. 22, 2002. … Buffalo forward Alex Tuch played in his 300th NHL game. … Skinner has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past nine games. … Thompson has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in nine games in April.