At the Horn | Jets 3 - Sabres 2 (OT)

Adam Lowry’s goal with 1:01 remaining in overtime sent the Winnipeg Jets home with a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

The Jets erased a pair of one-goal deficits in regulation on goals from Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor, then survived a third-period push by the Sabres as goaltender Connor Hellebuyck put the finishing touches on a 28-save performance.

The loss extended the Sabres’ winless streak to five games (0-3-2), though they were able to salvage a point against a Jets team that entered the night with the NHL’s third-best points percentage. Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens scored goals while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves.

Tyson Kozak, a seventh-round pick by the Sabres in 2021, appeared to score the go-ahead in his NHL debut with the score tied 2-2 in the second period, but the goal was taken off the board following a successful coach’s challenge for goaltender interference.

The Sabres were without captain Rasmus Dahlin, who missed the game after dealing with back spasms on Tuesday. The ailment forced Dahlin to exit that night's game against Colorado following his first shift of the third period.

First Period

The Sabres finished the opening period leading 2-1 on the strength of goals from Thompson and Cozens along with three successful penalty kills.

Thompson opened the scoring 3:27 into the contest on Buffalo’s first power play of the night. Operating on the right flank rather than his usual spot on the left, Thompson sent a hard wrist shot from the faceoff dot into the net off the far-side post.

The Jets responded just 47 seconds later with Vilardi’s goal, a deflection of a shot from the point taken by Haydn Fleury. The Sabres challenged for goaltender interference – Vilardi had made contact with Luukkonen as he skated by the net, just above the crease – but the call on the ice was upheld.

Cozens put Buffalo back in front at the 11:29 mark, using his skate to softly redirect a pass from Zach Benson on the rush. The assist was Benson’s fourth in the last four games.

Second period

The Sabres found themselves in more penalty trouble when Jacob Bryson and Thompson were assessed concurrent minor penalties for interference and tripping, respectively, thus awarding the Jets a full two minutes at 5-on-3.

Winnipeg tied the game with 28 seconds remaining on its two-man advantage when Mark Scheifele found a seam through the middle to set up Connor’s goal from the left circle.

Buffalo appeared to tie the game late in the period on what would have been Kozak’s first NHL goal, but Winnipeg challenged successfully that Beck Malenstyn had interfered with Hellebuyck as he skated across the top of the crease.

Third period

The Sabres controlled play in the Winnipeg end for the majority of the period, including a late power play after Malenstyn drew a tripping call against Vladislav Namestnikov. They finished the period with a 7-3 edge in shots and an 18-9 lead in shot attempts but were unable to push the go-ahead goal past Hellebuyck.

Overtime

The two teams traded chances, including a shot from Cozens on the rush that was turned away by Hellebuyck, but it was Lowry who found the back of the net late.

The sequence began with a Hellebuyck save on an Alex Tuch wrist shot, which sent the Jets up the ice 2-on-0. Bowen Byram hustled back to eliminate the odd-man rush and Luukkonen made an initial stop on Lowry, but Josh Morrissey got his stick on the rebound and sent the puck back to Lowry for a tap-in goal.

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GAME HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME SOUND

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The homestand continues Saturday with the Utah Hockey Club's first-ever visit to KeyBank Center. Tickets are available here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 12:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 1.