BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — JJ Peterka scored the lone shootout goal, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Saturday.
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.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
John Wawrow, The Associated Press