Tuch scores in OT, Sabres snap 3-game losing streak with win against Oilers

EDMONTON -- Alex Tuch scored 33 seconds into overtime, and the Buffalo Sabres recovered to end a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

Ryan McLeod found Tuch all alone in front of the net with a pass from the left boards, and Tuch scored glove side on Stuart Skinner for the game-winner.

“'Clouder’ told me to go, he was going to shoot it down the ice, that is the plan that we had, trying to put them back on their heels a little bit,” Tuch said. “Especially with their defenseman moving so far up, he thought that I could maybe beat the defenseman off the line. I was just able to strip the puck and we had possession from there on out.”

Tuch's goal came after Connor McDavid tied the game 3-3 with two seconds remaining in regulation. With Skinner on the bench for the extra attacker, a rebound from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' shot slid to McDavid in the left circle, where he buried a snap shot into an open net.

The goal capped a three-goal, third period rally for Edmonton.

“I didn’t think our effort or determination wavered,” Tuch said. “That 6-on-5 goal was really nothing. We go to shoot it out and it lands right on the best player in the world’s stick. So, that one’s pretty tough. Resilient, and we just kind of put our head down and worked. Even when it wasn’t going well, we still continued to try to battle hard and were able to get it done the hard way.”

Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists, Josh Doan scored twice, and Rasmus Dahlin had three assists for the Sabres (12-14-4), who had lost the first three games of a six-game road trip (1-3-0), including a 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday.

“That was one [heck] of a win, and we fought through the elements,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “I love the way our guys played, our guys battled through everything. We battled through every element out there.”

Colten Ellis made six saves before he was pulled by a concussion spotter for the final 59 seconds of the first period following a collision with Edmonton forward David Tomasek, who was called for goaltender interference. He was replaced by Alex Lyon, who stopped 21 of 24 shots. Ellis did not return to the game and underwent concussion protocol.

“We love Alex,” Doan said. “The save that he made coming into the game right away was world class. We always talk about how smart of a goalie he is and he reads the play really well, and that’s a prime example of getting thrown into the fire on your first shift, getting a backdoor off side one-timer.

“So, he was huge for us in that game and I think it’s awesome how fired up he was getting off the ice.”

McDavid scored twice, and Vasily Podkolzin had a goal for the Oilers (13-11-6), who had won two straight and are 2-1-1 in a five-game homestand. Skinner made 24 saves.

"Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I don't like we took six penalties, that took away a lot of our game. But when this team wants to turn it on and play well most times they can play amongst the best.

“But to be one of the best you have to consistently do that. It's one game over the last few weeks but I don't think there's anything to panic about right now."

The Oilers scored two goals in the opening 1:56 of the third period to get back into the game.

“We just understood where we're at and needed a push for the first five (minutes), and got it right away,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “But I don't think we played a bad game. It's just a matter of having a little more energy.”

McDavid cut the deficit to 3-1 just 10 seconds into the third, powering his way to the net and lifting a shot over Lyon's right pad.

“You’d like to play a full 60, especially the way that we’ve been trending in the right direction,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “The first 40 wasn’t great, but I really liked the group’s push back. It’s easy to get down 3-0 and just go away and write the game off. But we didn’t do that.”

Podkolzin made it 3-2 at 1:56, chipping in a loose puck during a scramble in the crease after Leon Draisaitl sent a shot on net from the top of the right face-off circle.

“We put ourselves in a bad position right from the start,” Podkolzin said. “We need to get the job done. We’re having obviously lots of good habits and we have the best players in the world here, so we have to bring it more.”

Doan put the Sabres ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 19:01 of the first period, tipping a point shot by Dahlin under Skinner's glove.

Thompson appeared to put the Sabres up 2-0 at 9:37 of the second period when he beat Skinner with a backhand. Edmonton challenged for a missed hand pass by Tuch, and the goal was reversed after a review.

Thompson would later make it 2-0 at 11:03. He stole the puck from Evan Bouchard in Edmonton's defensive zone to the right of the net, skated in front and beat Skinner from in tight.

“We just frustrated them, made it tough on their top guys. Especially in the first period, which is big to have a start like that,” Thompson said. “I know how it feels when you’re not feeling the puck or you’re getting little bumps everywhere, so I think we did a good job defensively not giving them free offense.”

Doan scored his second power-play goal to push the lead to 3-0 just 56 seconds later at 11:59. He took a feed from Thompson at the top of the crease and put a backhand between his legs far side on Skinner.

“That’s a first. I think you try that kind of thing in practice and see what happens, but it’s a great play by ‘Tommer’ to kind of hold the D-man out and give me space in front of the net,” Thompson said. “We haven’t had the trip we wanted to start here, obviously, and we lose a couple of guys before the game tonight.”

NOTES: The Sabres have not won on the road in regulation since April 1. ... Already missing forward Jason Zucker to a lower-body injury sustained Monday, Buffalo forward Josh Norris also sat out Tuesday’s game with a combination of illness and soreness, but unrelated to any previous injury, Ruff said. ... Dahlin extended his point streak to three games (one goal, five assists). ... McDavid has eight points (five goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak. ... Buffalo went 2-for-6 on the power play and has seven goals on the man-advantage in the past five games. Edmonton went 0-for-4.