NHL

Calgary Flames at Buffalo Sabres

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Peterka scores lone shootout goal in the Buffalo Sabres' 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames

JJ Peterka's shootout goal lifts Sabres past Flames

Tage Thompson and Zach Benson scored first-period goals, and the Sabres earned their third consecutive win. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 24 shots through overtime and all three that he faced in the shootout.

Thompson scored on a power play at 13:37. It was his team-leading 10th goal on the season.

Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato scored for Calgary, which had won six straight trips to Buffalo since a 4-2 loss on Nov. 21, 2016. Dan Vladar made 17 saves in dropping to 1-4-1 in his past six starts.

Backlund tied it at 2 with his third of the season with 4:18 left in regulation.

The Flames went 1-0-2 on a three-game trip.

Peterka scored on Buffalo’s second of three shootout attempts. Driving in from the left circle, Peterka faked cutting across the front of the net before beating Vladar through the legs.

Takeaways Flames: Have cooled off a bit, dropping to 2-5-2 since a 5-0-1 start.

Sabres: Won three in a row only twice last year in extending their NHL-record playoff drought to 13 seasons. They are in position to win four straight for the first time since Jan. 19-26, 2023.

Key moment The Sabres spent the final 80 seconds of overtime killing off a too many men penalty.

Key stat Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin has 235 career assists, moving him into third on the team list among defensemen, passing Alexei Zhitnik. Dahlin trails Mike Ramsey (256) and Phil Housley (380).

Up next The Flames host Los Angeles on Monday, and the Sabres host Montreal on Monday.

Regular Season Series

BUF leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 1:11 Zach Benson Goal (2) Backhand, assists: Jacob Bryson (1), Owen Power (7)
Goal 1st Period 13:37 Tage Thompson Goal (10) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (9), JJ Peterka (7)
Goal 2nd Period 17:44 Matt Coronato Goal (5) Tip-In, assists: MacKenzie Weegar (4), Blake Coleman (5)
Goal 3rd Period 15:42 Mikael Backlund Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Jonathan Huberdeau (4), Andrei Kuzmenko (7)
Goal 5 0:00 JJ Peterka Goal Wrist Shot

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/cgy.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCGY https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
15 Blocked Shots 19
20 Hits 18
3 Takeaways 7
26 Shots 19
0 Power Play Goals 1
3 Power Play Opportunities 2
0.0 Power Play Percentage 50.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
26 Faceoffs Won 39
40.0 Faceoff Win Percent 60.0
12 Giveaways 13
3 Total Penalties 4
6 Penalty Minutes 8

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 16,442 | Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Vegas 12 6 26 2
Calgary 11 6 25 3
Los Angeles 10 7 23 3
Edmonton 10 9 22 2
Vancouver 9 6 21 3
Seattle 10 9 21 1
Anaheim 8 8 19 3
San Jose 6 11 17 5

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 12 6 26 2
Florida 12 7 25 1
Tampa Bay 10 6 22 2
Buffalo 10 9 21 1
Boston 9 9 21 3
Detroit 8 9 18 2
Ottawa 8 10 17 1
Montreal 7 10 16 2
Full Standings