At the Horn | Sabres 4 - Flames 1

JJ Peterka scored the go-ahead goal with 8:57 remaining in the third period and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-1 win inside Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday.

The win concluded a season-long, five-game road trip for the Sabres. They return to Buffalo for a five-game homestand trailing Washington by six points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres and Capitals have two head-to-head matchups remaining at KeyBank Center on April 2 and 11.

Peyton Krebs, Tage Thompson and Connor Clifton also scored for the Sabres. Thompson and Alex Tuch - both of whom assisted on Peterka's winning goal - extended their point streaks to five games.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored the lone goal for Calgary. Dustin Wolf made 25 saves.

Here’s the breakdown from the win.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 4:53 – Peyton Krebs from Lukas Rousek (1-0, BUF)

Krebs received a pass from Rousek in the neutral zone, carried it over the offensive blue line, and sent Buffalo’s first shot of the night into the far side of the net from the left faceoff circle.

The assist gave Rousek points in consecutive games for the first time in his NHL career.

Period 2, 10:35 (PP) – Jonathan Huberdeau from Yegor Sharangovich and Daniil Miromanov (1-1)

The Flames received the first power play of the game when Krebs was assessed a hooking penalty 10:04 into the second period. They scored 31 seconds in on an attempted pass across the net from Huberdeau that deflected in off the stick of Sabres defenseman Owen Power.

Luukkonen turned away a breakaway attempt by Martin Pospisil to prevent the Flames from pulling ahead less than three minutes later. The goaltender stuck with Pospisil after he faked a slap shot, then turned away the forward’s attempt from in close with his paddle.

Period 3, 11:04 – JJ Peterka from Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch (2-1, BUF)

The Sabres opened the third period with a successful penalty kill, buying time for their top line to earn the go-ahead goal with strong work on the forecheck.

Thompson dumped the puck into the Calgary zone and battled defenseman MacKenzie Weegar as both players chased it to the end boards. Tuch outbattled Miromanov on the other side of the net to force a turnover on Weegar’s attempted breakout pass, freeing the puck back to Thompson.

Thompson delivered a pass to Peterka, who was all alone in front for his third goal in the last two games.

Period 3, 19:15 – Tage Thompson, unassisted (3-1, BUF)

Thompson forced a turnover in the neutral zone and shot the puck into the empty net for his 22nd goal of the season, giving the Sabres a 3-1 lead with less than a minute remaining.

Period 3, 19:58 – Connor Clifton from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (4-1, BUF)

Luukkonen banked the puck off the end boards to Clifton, who was beside the Sabres' net along the goal line. Clifton fired the puck down the ice and into the empty net to cap off the 4-1 victory.

POSTGAME COMMENTS

UP NEXT

The Sabres host the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday to open a five-game homestand. Tickets are available here.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.