At the Horn

The Buffalo Sabres fell 5-2 to the Calgary Flames on Thursday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Buffalo took a 2-1 lead with an early second-period surge, but the Flames fought back and successfully defended a one-goal lead for much of the final frame. They eventually secured the victory with two empty-net goals.

The Sabres' Mattias Samuelsson tallied a goal and an assist for his third career multi-point effort, while Tage Thompson extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with his 22nd of the season.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves on 24 shots.

Jonathan Huberdeau (1+2) and Nazem Kadri (1+2) both logged three-point nights, while Jakob Pelletier tallied a goal and an assist. Yegor Sharangovich and Mikael Backlund scored late empty-net goals, and netminder Dustin Wolf stopped 32 of 34 shots.

Without Jason Zucker (illness) for a second straight game, the Sabres once again played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. They’re now 2-2 this month when using that configuration.

Buffalo went 0-for-6 on the power play, with three of those opportunities coming in the third period.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Period

Calgary appeared to have an odd-man rush midway through the period, but an interference call on Matt Coronato gave Buffalo the game’s first power play.

The best two chances during that man advantage belonged to Calgary. First, Luukkonen denied Rasmus Andersson on a 2-on-1 rush. Then Huberdeau scored on a breakaway at 12:00, giving the Flames a 1-0 lead. It was Buffalo’s first shorthanded goal allowed since Oct. 26.

A scrum broke out 16 minutes into the period after a back-and-forth between Huberdeau and Jack Quinn in front of Buffalo’s bench; both went off for roughing, leading to a 4-on-4.

Andersson hit the far post with a late-period slap shot, and Bowen Byram and Rasmus Dahlin helped clear the loose puck out from behind Luukkonen.

The Sabres led 14-7 in first-period shots, but Calgary led 13-6 in scoring chances and 8-1 in high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

Second Period

Samuelsson tied the game 1-1 at 2:50 with his third goal of the season, releasing a point shot that deflected off Andersson’s stick and past Wolf. Henri Jokiharju snapped a 26-game point drought with the primary assist. The Sabres had previously hit a post during that extended offensive-zone shift.

After the goal, continued pressure netted the go-ahead tally at 7:18 for Thompson, who set up atop the crease and tipped another Samuelsson shot through Calgary’s netminder.

Kadri’s backhand shot leaked through Luukkonen to tie the game 2-2 at the 10:31 mark, and 17 seconds later, a Connor Clifton interference penalty gave the Flames a power play. It lasted just 26 seconds, however, before a Kadri hold evened things up.

The Sabres earned their second power play of the night when Andersson held Beck Malenstyn, impeding the Buffalo forward from shooting on a chance alone in front. This man advantage proved unsuccessful, too.

Buffalo held a 10-8 edge in second-period shots, including one by Sam Lafferty that led to a net-front scramble in the final seconds.

Mattias Samuelsson ties the game at 1-1

Tage Thompson scores his 22nd of the season

Third Period

Calgary took a 3-2 lead at 3:29 as Brayden Pachal’s shot from up high was redirected multiple times, including by Pelletier’s stick in the slot, before finding the back of the net.

Peyton Krebs’ physical night culminated in a fight versus MacKenzie Weegar.

Midway through the period, Luukkonen fended off four Flames shots in a nine-second span to hold the deficit at one. Tyson Kozak also protected an open cage with a shot block during the sequence.

Shortly after, Kozak drew a Pelletier slashing penalty during an aggressive net drive. Buffalo notched three shots during the power play but couldn’t capitalize.

JJ Peterka got the puck along the goal line for a great chance 15 minutes in, but Wolf robbed his wide-angle shot with a great glove save.

The ensuing faceoff resulted in another penalty on Kadri. The Sabres pulled Luukkonen with 35 seconds remaining on the power play and 3:30 in the game; after the penalty expired, Kadri and Huberdeau assisted Sharangovich for an empty-net goal.

A Daniil Miromanov delay of game sent Buffalo right back to the power play, but a faceoff win led directly to Backlund’s empty netter.

FINAL | Flames 5 - Sabres 2

UP NEXT

The Sabres visit the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon for the final stop of their four-game road trip.

Coverage on MSG begins at 3:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 4.