The Sabres outshot the Oilers 41-34 in the 3-2 loss. EDMONTON – Jiri Kulich appeared to score the game-tying goal late in the third period, but a video review stifled the Buffalo Sabres' comeback effort in their 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday.
With the game tied 2-2, Buffalo outshot Edmonton 11-1 to start the third period before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal of the game, giving the Oilers their first lead of the afternoon. That tally was ultimately the game winner as the Sabres concluded their road trip with a 1-3-0 record.
Nugent-Hopkins scores twice
The Buffalo Sabres played pretty well in Edmonton but the same problems that have lost them games cropped up again. In Calgary, Buffalo had 77 shot attempts, but had 21 miss the net and lost. Against
Hopkins' second goal of the game snapped a tie with 11:01 left as the Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers overcame a barrage of Buffalo shots in the final two periods to beat the Sabres, 3-2, Saturday at Rogers Place.
The Sabres had a chance to split the Pacific Northwest road trip with a win in Edmonton. Unfortunately, the team only ever trailed during the most important part of the game - the last of it. The Oilers hung on to win 3-2 over the blue and gold.
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Tage Thompson had taken a shot from the point, and Jiri Kulich was parked in front of the net battling for position. When the rebound bounced toward him, he kicked it toward the net attempting to get a stick on it.
My Oilers analysis Evan Bouchard has taken his shot generation to a completely different level of late, averaging 3.7 shots on 8.3 attempts over the last 10 games. That’s a significant jump from the 2.8 shots and 6.8 attempts he’s averaged on the season.
How far down the Oilers' pecking order has Skinner dropped? He played 13:34 in Thursday's 6-2 win over Vancouver − and that was his biggest ice time total since Dec. 3.
The Buffalo Sabres (18-26-5) fell 3-2 to the Edmonton Oilers (31-15-3) at Rogers Place on Saturday afternoon, dropping to 1-4 in their last five games. Buffalo’s Alex Tuch opened the scoring late in the first period, converting on a sharp pass from Jason Zucker, but the Oilers responded just 17 seconds later, thanks to former Sabre Jeff Skinner.
Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots for his second shutout of the season as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Saturday night. Marco Kasper redirected J.T. Compher’s shot at 9:55 of the second period,