Dahlin scores with 14 seconds left in 3rd, Sabres rally for shootout win against Golden Knights

BUFFALO -- Rasmus Dahlin tied it with 14 seconds left in the third period, and the Buffalo Sabres rallied for a 4-3 shootout win against the Vegas Golden Knights at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Dahlin, the Sabres captain, made it 3-3 with a slap shot from the blue line through traffic after Jack Eichel gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 17:27 when he swept in a loose puck from the doorstep to extend his point streak to eight games (11 points; two goals, nine assists).

“Unbelievable play by Tage [Thompson] and ‘Bo’ [Bowen Byram] to keep the puck in, and Bo made a great pass to me, and it was just for me to shoot it,” Dahlin said.

Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker also scored, and Byram had two assists for Buffalo (26-33-6), which has won two of three after a six-game skid (0-5-1). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 16 saves.

Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev scored, and Adin Hill made 34 saves for Vegas (39-19-8), which has lost three of four (1-1-2) and visits the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

“I just think a total lack of respect, probably most of the night,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But the way it kind of ended probably sums that up.”

Vegas forward Tomas Hertl had a chance to seal the game with an empty-net goal with under 40 seconds remaining in the third but opted to pass to Eichel, which led to a turnover.

“I’d like to see him shoot the puck in the net and end the game,” Cassidy said. “That’s what I’d like to see. I think the whole team would like to see that.”

Howden gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 12:07 of the first period, taking a feed from Tanner Pearson at the back door and directing it past Luukkonen.

Dorofeyev put on a backhand from the side of the net behind Luukkonen, who was at the top of his crease, to make it 2-0 at 12:06 of the second period.

McLeod cut it to 2-1 seven seconds later at 12:13 when he took a stretch pass from Jacob Bryson at the offensive blue line and carried it to the left circle before beating Hill five-hole.

“I think we were kind of sloppy at times,” Golden Knights forward Victor Olofsson said. “We played a simple game early, I think that kind of worked for us, [but] then we got away from it.

“I mean obviously we’ve said it before -- they have some skill on the team and they can make plays. I think that’s what happened.”

Zucker, in the slot, intercepted Alex Pietrangelo’s clearing attempt from behind the net and snapped it into the top right corner on the power play to tie it 2-2 at 9:53 of the third. McLeod helped create the turnover when he pressured Pietrangelo, pressuring the defenseman to get rid of the puck.

“I think we’re trying to focus on how we want to finish the season as a team and building our group,” Zucker said. “And I think this is a good step. And especially after the game in Detroit (a 7-3 loss on Wednesday), I thought this was a great response and now we have to follow it up.”

Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch scored in the shootout for the Sabres after Olofsson scored for the Golden Knights.

“The amount of time we spent in the offensive zone, we didn’t have to play a lot of defense, [but] when we did we had a line that was probably already on the ice for 15 seconds versus starting in your own end,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “We won a lot of face-offs, which were really important in the offensive zone [and] allowed us to get into puck-possession plays. Defending, the number of shots we gave up (19), it’s a recipe for winning a lot of hockey games.”

NOTES: Dahlin has the second-latest tying goal by a defenseman this season after Noah Hanifin of the Golden Knights (seven seconds remaining against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 11). … Eichel is the only player to have three point streaks of at least eight games with Vegas (12 games last season; eight games in 2022-23). … Olofsson, who spent six seasons with the Sabres (2018-24), played his first game in Buffalo since signing as a free agent with the Golden Knights on July 2, 2024. …. Buffalo forward Jiri Kulich left midway through the second period after a hit from Howden and did not return. Ruff said he is "doing pretty good," but that they would see how he feels Sunday. … Sabres forward Josh Norris did not play because of an undisclosed injury. … Buffalo forward Beck Malenstyn had a game-high seven hits in 14:52 of ice time.