‘Desperate’ Sabres storm back from 3-goal deficit, win in overtime

DETROIT – Tage Thompson smelled blood in the water and an opportunity to get the Buffalo Sabres back in the win column. So, instead of curling back to defend in the 3-on-3 overtime, he followed his shot, checked the Detroit Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat – almost “through the end of the rink,” in coach Lindy Ruff’s words – and regained possession.

The conventional overtime setup of two forwards and one defenseman had failed the Sabres four times in recent weeks. So, on the second shift of the extra period, Ruff deployed Thompson with defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson.

Thompson passed to the open Samuelsson, who cruised into the slot and ripped a shot past goalie John Gibson, giving Buffalo a 5-4 win on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.

“I think it was just desperation,” Thompson said. “We’ve been in a lot of overtime games and been on the other side of it. Loose puck there, and if I get that puck, then we’ve got a really good look.”

The play secured two well-earned points for the Sabres, who hadn’t won a game they trailed by three goals since November 2018. On Saturday, Detroit scored three times in five minutes, taking a 4-1 lead early in the second period, but Buffalo wasn’t deterred.

“Our desperation has to be greater than theirs if we’re going to get back,” Ruff recalled telling the team. “This isn’t screaming and yelling at each other, it’s about, we’ve got to do it for each other. And I thought the guys went out and did a hell of a job.”

The comeback started with 2:02 remaining in the second, when Josh Doan redirected Dahlin’s point shot for his fifth goal of the season. A two-goal game, now.

It continued 4:25 into the third on a terrific individual play by Thompson. He grabbed the puck in the defensive zone, raced up ice, stickhandled his way to the crease and beat Gibson. A one-goal game, now.

“We’ve been losing a lot of games, and it’s frustrating, and we know no one’s gonna sit there and feel sorry for us,” Thompson said. “I think we just tried to impose our will there and knew that if we got one early, put them on their heels a little bit, we could get some momentum rolling. And we did.”

“You see your best player do that, it obviously gives you energy through the bench,” Samuelsson added of Thompson. “… He was a dog tonight; glad we’ve got him on our side.”

The Sabres began similar comeback bids in recent games – last Saturday in Carolina, Thursday in Colorado – but couldn’t finish the job. This time, penalty-killing stalwart Ryan McLeod got it done, stealing the puck at the defensive blue line and burying a shorthanded breakaway chance.

“He wasn’t even supposed to be out there,” Ruff said. “(Jordan) Greenway was going, but I guess McLeod called him off. So, I said, ‘McLeod’s not supposed to be out there!’ And then we got the breakaway, I said, ‘It might be okay.’”

The Sabres had clawed their way back from the brink of a fifth straight regulation loss. They totaled 13 shots in the first two periods before matching that number in the third, allowing Detroit just four scoring chances in the process.

“Everyone was pretty pissed after the second,” Samuelsson said, “and when you’re down like that, you’ve got nothing to lose, really. So, go out, play, fight, have a little ‘F U’ in your game. I think we did that in the third, and that’s the result.”

Here’s more from the overtime win.

PK gets it to OT

The Sabres were called for too many men on the ice with 2:33 remaining in regulation, what Ruff labeled “one of the worst calls I’ve seen.” Suddenly, the comeback was at risk of going to waste.

But the NHL’s best penalty kill (89.5 percent), which had already produced McLeod’s shorthanded tally that period, didn’t flinch. Colten Ellis made two stops during the kill to cap off a 24-save night, and he's now got two NHL wins, both versus Detroit.

A few minutes prior, forward Tyson Kozak blocked a dangerous shot attempt from the Red Wings’ Moritz Seider. Kozak struggled off the ice and went down the tunnel, but he was ready to return when Samuelsson ended it in overtime.

“The desperation to kill that, that blocked shot... There was a lot of pieces that went into winning that game,” Ruff said.

Dahlin returns

Dahlin had missed the Sabres’ last three games while on personal leave in Sweden. He returned Saturday to skate a team-high 25:38 with two assists. His presence as an elite defenseman and the team’s captain had been sorely missed.

• From Saturday morning: Dahlin talks fiancee’s health, return to lineup

“It’s a big loss when our captain and our best player is out of the lineup,” Thompson said. “He’s an impact player, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence we got the job done tonight with him.”

Kesselring shines before injury

Defenseman Michael Kesselring took just one third-period shift before exiting with a lower-body injury.

“He wasn’t able to come back,” Ruff said. “… My initial thoughts: it doesn’t look good.”

Before the injury, he thrived on a pair with Owen Power – the first time they’ve started a game together. In their 8:49 of shared 5-on-5 ice time, the Sabres dominated in shot attempts (15-5), shots on goal (7-3) and scoring chances (11-0), per Natural Stat Trick.

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for the latest on Kesselring when the Sabres return to KeyBank Center on Monday.

Up next

The Sabres return to Buffalo for a four-game homestand, beginning Monday night against the Oilers. Tickets are available here.

• Info: Native American Heritage Night at KeyBank Center

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. before puck drop at 7.