At the Horn | Ducks 4 - Sabres 3

The Buffalo Sabres outshot the Anaheim Ducks 37-15 but fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Ducks in a back-and-forth affair Monday afternoon inside KeyBank Center.

Buffalo held a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, but the Ducks outscored the Sabres 3-1 the rest of the way to earn the victory.

Frank Vatrano tallied a pair of goals for Anaheim while his linemates Troy Terry (1+2) and Mason McTavish (0+3) each recorded three points. Adam Henrique also scored for the Ducks as goaltender John Gibson stopped 34 of 37 shots in the opposing net.

Jordan Greenway, Tage Thompson, and Zach Benson scored for Buffalo and Dylan Cozens added two assists.

Rasmus Dahlin led all skaters with 29:18 of ice time, recording an assist and five shots, while JJ Peterka skated 18:05, tallying one assist and a team-best six shots.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 11 saves in his 28th start of the season.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 9:07 – Jordan Greenway from Dylan Cozens (1-0, BUF)

The Sabres outshot the Ducks 7-2 in the opening period before finding the back of the net on their eighth shot of the game.

Casey Mittelstadt and Greenway forced a turnover by Vatrano in the neutral zone and Cozens picked up the loose puck to send the Sabres on the rush. Cozens passed to Greenway for a wrist shot from above the slot to beat Gibson over his right shoulder.

Period 1, 10:10 – Adam Henrique from Max Jones and Ross Johnston (1-1)

Anaheim answered back just over a minute later after Johnston stripped the puck from Erik Johnson in the corner. Johnston fed the puck to Jones in front of the net and Jones dropped the puck back for Henrique, who was alone in the slot to capitalize on a one-timer from point-blank range.

Period 2, 8:10 (PP) – Tage Thompson from Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens (2-1, BUF)

After JJ Peterka drew a cross-checking penalty on Sam Carrick, the Sabres took advantage of the ensuing power play.

Buffalo’s top power-play unit of Thompson, Dahlin, Cozens, Jeff Skinner, and Alex Tuch generated two shots on goal before Thompson fired a shot from the left circle that missed wide. Cozens collected the rebound off the end boards and passed to Dahlin at the point, who gave it right back to Thompson for a one-timer to beat Gibson short side.

Period 2, 11:59 – Frank Vatrano from Mason McTavish and Troy Terry (2-2)

The Sabres had held the Ducks without a shot for over 10 minutes before they recorded three shots on goal in a span of six seconds to tie the score. McTavish found Vatrano on the right faceoff dot for a one-timer that Luukkonen saved, but the puck trickled loose behind him, and Vatrano put away the rebound to make it 2-2.

Period 2, 14:34 – Frank Vatrano from Mason McTavish and Troy Terry (3-2, ANA)

Terry, McTavish, and Vatrano connected once again to give the Ducks their first lead of the day with 5:26 remaining in the second period. Erik Johnson came out to the Sabres’ blue line to contest the puck, but Terry slipped it over to McTavish to give Anaheim a 2-on-1 opportunity. Ryan Johnson attempted to block the pass, but McTavish found Vatrano to his left for Vatrano’s second goal of the day and 26th of the season.

Period 2, 15:20 – Zach Benson from Henri Jokiharju and JJ Peterka (3-3)

Buffalo had an answer less than a minute later on a delayed penalty. Peterka fought through the Anaheim defense to get the puck to Jokiharju, who ripped a shot through traffic from the point. Benson got his stick on it in front of the net to beat Gibson five-hole and tie the score at 3-3.

Period 2, 18:56 – Troy Terry from Mason McTavish (4-3, ANA)

The Ducks took the lead back with 1:04 left in the second after Luukkonen went behind the net to settle the puck and passed it over to Connor Clifton on the left wall. McTavish beat Clifton to the puck and found Terry beside the net for Anaheim’s fourth goal of the game, a shot from in front of the blue paint that snuck under Luukkonen’s pad.

POSTGAME COMMENTS

GAME GALLERY

UP NEXT

The Sabres will kick off a two-game road swing in Montreal on Wednesday.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with faceoff slated for 7. Fans without cable can also stream MSG on Fubo. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.