At the Final Horn | Mittelstadt exits early in loss to Ducks

Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt left with an apparent injury during the third period of a 1-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks inside KeyBank Center on Monday.
Mittelstadt missed 21 games after sustaining an upper-body injury during Buffalo's season opener on Oct. 16. He was playing for the third time since returning to the lineup in Florida last Thursday.
The forward completed his last shift against the Ducks with 13:56 remaining in the contest before leaving for the dressing room.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his season debut in goal for the Sabres, stopping 21 of 23 shots.
Sonny Milano scored the winning goal for the Ducks, the product of a highlight-reel assist from Trevor Zegras during the second period. Sam Carrick also scored. Anthony Stolarz made 25 saves.

How it happened

The Sabres managed to limit quality chances for high-scoring Ducks, holding them to just three high-danger attempts at 5-on-5 according to Natural Stat Trick.
It was an unorthodox attempt that finally put Anaheim on the board. Zegras, stationed behind the net, lifted the puck onto the blade of his stick as if he were readying to attempt a "Michigan" lacrosse-style goal. Instead, he flipped it over the net, where Milano was waiting to bat it out of midair.
Video review ruled that Milano's stick - which sent the puck in over Luukkonen's shoulder - did not contact the puck above the crossbar. The goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 5:14 of the second period.
The Sabres outshot the Ducks 14-8 during the third period but could not beat Stolarz. The Ducks blocked 23 shots and killed all three Sabres power plays, including two in the final period.
Carrick scored on a deflection to add to the Anaheim lead with 2:08 remaining.

Worth mentioning

• Kyle Okposo saw his six-game point streak come to an end with the shutout.

Up next

The homestand continues with back-to-back games this weekend. The set opens against the New York Rangers on Friday, followed by a matchup with the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The latter game will be Native American Heritage Night at KeyBank Center.
Tickets for both games are available here.
Coverage on Friday begins at 6:30 p.m. on MSG.