Postgame Report | Sabres' point streak extends to 7 games with SO loss

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Kyle Okposo could only be proud of how the Sabres gutted out a point for the seventh straight game, even if the result was not what they had hoped for.
The Sabres' meeting with the Minnesota Wild was their 13th game in 22 days. They were concluding a four-game road trip that included matchups with the top two teams in the Western Conference in Dallas and Winnipeg plus two physical, defense-oriented contenders in St. Louis and Minnesota. Dylan Cozens and Mattias Samuelsson were both absent due to injuries.
For 60 minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime, the Sabres went toe to toe with the Wild in spite of those factors stacked against them. The Wild prevailed in the shootout with goals on all three attempts to win, 3-2.

"That's a gutsy game," Okposo said. "… I'm proud of the way the guys hung in here tonight."

Jack Quinn and Zemgus Girgensons scored goals for the Sabres, who had a five-game winning streak snapped but kept a seven-game point streak intact (5-0-2). They inched closer in the standings, now one point shy of Pittsburgh for the second wild card.
They went 3-0-1 on the road trip, which opened Monday with an overtime victory against the Stars.
"That's a good trip, so these guys should walk out of here with their heads up," Sabres coach Don Granato said.
The 13-game stretch was bookended with meetings with the Wild. The Sabres took the first one 6-5 in overtime on January 7 but dropped four of the next five games - all on home ice. They recalibrated their strategy, sacrificing practice time in favor of showing up fresh on game days. The results followed.
"I'm just proud of the guys and the way that we hung in there," Okposo said. "It didn't start off great with the homestand and we were able to right the ship."
Their young players, midway through their first NHL schedule, showed up throughout. Power scored the winning goal in Dallas and added goals in St. Louis and Winnipeg. Peyton Krebs outworked two defenders to set up Girgensons' goal on Saturday. Quinn scored his eighth goal of the season.
"These are not easy games," Girgensons said. "These road trips are not easy. A lot of guys are going through this stuff for the first time. The way they kept their focus and their energy levels up is great."
That they kept their focus given the circumstances on Saturday - a physical, veteran opponent; a raucous atmosphere; a precious point in the standings - was more reason to be proud.
"We know where we're at," Okposo said. "It's fun to play these games, but at the same time it's, literally, you've got to win your day. That's it. Whether it's a practice day, a day off, a game day. Whatever it is. Focus on the here and now.
"You can check the standings once after the game, but you've got to just focus on yourself and what you can control because if you start looking ahead, that's when negative things start to snowball."

How it happened

PERIOD 1
Quinn intercepted the puck in the offensive zone, curled to the slot, and beat Fleury clean with a wrist shot to open the scoring just 2:22 into the contest.

The Wild tied the game 1:13 later on their first of three power plays in the period. Kirill Kaprizov chased a loose puck behind the goal line and made a quick pass to Joel Eriksson Ek, who buried it from in front.
PERIOD 2
Girgensons put the Sabres in front at 9:50. Krebs fended off Jon Merrill in the corner and passed to Okposo, who quickly found Girgensons open at the back side of the net.

Spurgeon buried a crossing feed from Frederick Gaudreau to tie the game at 12:39.
The Sabres nearly jumped back in front at the buzzer, after Luukkonen fended off a long shift from the line of Kaprizov, Sam Steel, and Mats Zuccarello in the Buffalo zone. Rasmus Dahlin drifted low for a shot from in tight and sent a rebound over the goal line, but it crossed just after the clock had expired.
PERIOD 3
The Sabres took 10 shots in the period, including a wrap-around chance from Tage Thompson that was stuffed by Fleury. Luukkonen stopped a point-blank shot from Zuccarello midway through the period.
OVERTIME
The teams traded chances in overtime, and Luukkonen came up huge on Matt Boldy with 3:18 left to extend the session. Luukkonen made three saves in overtime.
Minnesota iced the puck with 1:07 and after Buffalo gained possession off the draw, Thompson had a chance at a big one-timer from the left faceoff circle, but he saw his stick break as he connected with the puck.
Fleury made a windmill glove save on Tuch as time expired.
SHOOTOUT
In the first round, Mats Zuccarello scored and Thompson matched it with a quick move and wrist shot.
Kaprisov hit the crossbar, but the puck caromed back and hit Luukkonen to cross the goal line. Quinn was then stopped in the bottom of the second.
To give Minnesota the extra point, Frederick Gaudreau backhanded a shot top shelf.

What we learned

1.Cozens and Samuelsson both missed the game with injuries. Cozens sustained an injury during the third period against Winnipeg on Thursday; Samuelsson sat for the second straight game.
Both players skated Saturday morning and were considered game-time decisions.
"They both skated this morning but I just didn't want to throw [them] in," Granato said. "We've played lots of hockey and I didn't want to make things worse at this point. We're in a good position moving forward. We're not in a position to take risks on those two guys. Not today."
2. Rasmus Asplund returned to the lineup in place of Cozens, his first game since January 16. He skated 7:09.
3.Granato adjusted the forward lines as the game progressed. Quinn and JJ Peterka alternated shifts alongside Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson while Jeff Skinner skated alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Victor Olofsson.
"I thought they handled it fine," Granato said. "They worked. We created chances all the way through."
4.Thompson led the Sabres with eight shot attempts, including two that hit the post. He scored the lone goal for Buffalo in the shootout.
5. Buffalo is now 1-1 in the shootout this season.

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. It will be Choose Love Night at KeyBank Center, placing the spotlight on the Black community and local Black-owned businesses. Tickets are on sale now.
Find more information on the night here.
The game will be nationally televised on TNT beginning at 7:30.