Frank Vatrano scored two goals for the visiting Anaheim Ducks, who recovered from a defensive meltdown over the weekend for a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon.
Troy Terry had a goal and two assists, Mason McTavish had three assists and John Gibson made 34 saves for the Ducks, who were outshot 37-15 in the finale of a four-game road trip. Anaheim lost 9-2 at Toronto on Saturday.
Jordan Greenway, Tage Thompson and Zach Benson scored goals, Dylan Cozens had two assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 11 saves for the Sabres, who have lost four of their past six.
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead at 9:07 of the first period.
The Ducks turned the puck over in the neutral zone and Cozens carried it across the blue line before passing to Greenway on his left. Greenway took two strides before scoring with a snap shot from the high slot.
Anaheim tied it 1-1 just over a minute later.
Ross Johnston forced a turnover by Buffalo defenseman Erik Johnson in the corner of the Sabres’ zone, and he nudged the puck to Max Jones, who was cutting through the slot. Jones passed the puck to a trailing Adam Henrique, who banked his shot off the bottom of the crossbar and across the goal line at 10:10.
Buffalo was on its first power play when Thompson scored with a one-timer from the right circle to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 8:10 of the second period.
Anaheim tied it 2-2 at 11:59 of the second when McTavish took a one-timer from the right circle that Luukkonen stopped, but Luukkonen didn’t secure the puck and Vatrano swept it into the net.
Vatrano scored again off a feed from McTavish to finish a two-on-one rush and give the Ducks a 3-2 lead at 14:34.
The Sabres tied it 3-3 at 15:20 when Benson tipped in a slap shot from Henri Jokiharju.
The Ducks regained the lead at 18:56 of the second when Terry scored. He received a pass at the side of the net after McTavish forced a turnover and skated in front, with the 21-year-old McTavish recording the third three-assist game of his career.
–Field Level Media
