Sabres recap: Wild gets power-play goal in OT to beat Buffalo
Mats Zuccarello's power-play goal at 1:47 of OT gave the Minnesota Wild a 5-4 win over the Sabres in KeyBank Center in a game that saw Buffalo wipe out a 3-1 deficit.
The Buffalo Sabres came oh-so-close to killing off a penalty in overtime Saturday afternoon.
One second away, in fact. But they couldn't take it the distance.
Mats Zuccarello's power-play goal at 1:47 of OT gave the Minnesota Wild a 5-4 win over the Sabres in KeyBank Center in a game that saw Buffalo wipe out a 3-1 deficit.
With Peyton Krebs in the penalty box for hooking, Mattias Samuelsson cleared the puck down the ice, and it appeared the 4-on-3 edge for the Wild was over. But goalie Filip Gustavsson burst from the net and fired a long pass through three lines to Kirill Kaprizov. Working from the right wing, Kaprizov let go a cross ice pass to Zuccarello, who one-timed the puck past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Buffalo Sabres left wing Jason Zucker (17) and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jake Middleton (5) chase the puck
in the first period of their game at KeyBank Center on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Joed Viera/Buffalo News)
The Sabres fell to 15-2-1 in their last 18 games and failed to go 16-2 in an 18-game stretch for the first time in franchise history. They were 8-1 in their previous nine home games.
Luukkonen, who made 30 saves, entered play with seven straight wins downtown, but fell one shy of the franchise home record of eight set by Dave Dryden during the 1972-73 season.
It was a crazy game that saw the Wild score with 7.5 seconds left in the first period and 1:08 into the second to build a 3-1 lead. The Sabres responded with three goals in a six-minute stretch later in the second to wipe out the deficit and grab a 4-3 lead.
But Minnesota defenseman Quinn Hughes got the game even on a wicked slapshot over Luukkonen's left shoulder 57 seconds after Tuch's goal, and the teams headed into the third period tied 4-4.
Sabres center Josh Norris missed his second straight game after taking a cross check to the ribs Wednesday against Philadelphia. Defenseman Michael Kesselring was back after missing seven games with an ankle problem. Jacob Bryson sat as a healthy scratch.
The game was played before a sellout crowd of 19,070, which was the eighth full house of the season and the third one on the homestand. The Sabres had just four all of last season.
How it happened
First period: Things heated up after a very quiet first nine minutes that saw the Wild get the only shot on goal. The visitors emerged with a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes as Ryan Hartman got a goalmouth tip-in with 7.5 seconds left after Quinn Hughes made a great spin move near the blue line to get away from Josh Doan. Former Sabre Marcus Foligno opened the scoring at 9:19 by squeezing a puck through Luukkonen from the edge of the crease. The Sabres tied it at 10:05 with Ryan McLeod getting a piece of a Jack Quinn pass to even the score.The goal came after Hughes was taking some roughhousing along the boards from Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring, and Buffalo broke down the ice with Minnesota's attention mostly diverted. Marcus Foligno challenged Kesselring, but they were separated at that moment. But after serving two minutes apiece for unsportsmanlike conduct, the pair went at it for real six seconds after emerging from the penalty box.
Second period: The Sabres were outshot 10-0 over the first seven minutes and fell behind 3-1 on Vladimir Tarasenko's goal at 1:08. Luukkonen prevented even further damage by stopping Danila Yurov on a breakaway and ex-Sabre Vinny Hinostroza on a tip attempt all alone in front. His teammates responded as Peyton Krebs tipped home a Mattias Samelsson pass at 10:07, Jack Quinn netted a Rasmus Dahlin rebound at 11:34 and Tuch put Buffalo ahead with a power-play goal at 16:07. Hughes got that back at 17:04 with a wicked slapshot over Luukkonen's left shoulder
Third period: Luukkonen stopped Mats Zuccarello and Jake Middleton in short order early in the period to keep the game tied. Mattias Samuelsson went directly to the dressing room with 7:24 left after taking a deflected puck to the face, but he returned for OT.
The Sabres had a close call at a go-ahead goal as Owen Power clanked a shot off the post with 5:28 left, and McLeod was stopped in front 30 seconds later. Krebs took a hooking penalty with 13.7 seconds left after stealing the puck from Tarasenko in the Buffalo end and streaking away for what looked like a good scoring chance.
What's next
After spending all week at home, the Sabres hit the road for the next five games. They play a Martin Luther King Day matinee Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Carolina and then head to Nashville for the other half of a back-to-back on Tuesday night.The trip continues on to Montreal and Long Island for games Thursday and Saturday before a brief respite at home and wraps up Jan. 27 in Toronto. The next home game is not until Jan. 29 against Los Angeles.
