Victor Olofsson opened the scoring, then concluded it with 18.3 seconds remaining in overtime and Rasmus Dahlin topped the 200-career point mark with two goals and three assists Saturday night as the Buffalo Sabres beat the visiting Minnesota Wild 6-5.
In the final seconds of a frenetic extra session, Olofsson found the puck and drove it past Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury (31 saves) to give Buffalo a second straight win and eighth in nine games. Dahlin, who assisted on Olofsson’s winner, solidified his career night by driving the puck through Fleury’s legs to tie it with 2:24 left in regulation.
Tage Thompson scored his 31st goal and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 39 saves for the Sabres, who are 13-4-2 since Nov. 22.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman each had a goal with an assist for Minnesota, which lost for just the third time in 12 games (9-2-1). The Wild trailed 4-2 after Buffalo scored three straight goals over a 3:25 span of the second period and were down one entering the third.
But just 26 seconds into the final period, Marcus Foligno tied it at 4-4 and Eriksson Ek beat Luukkonen with 12:12 left in regulation to give Minnesota a 5-4 edge.
Buffalo opened the scoring with seven minutes remaining in the first period on Olofsson’s one-timer.
Minnesota, playing without injured star Mats Zuccarello (upper body), leveled the contest 2:52 into the second when Brandon Duhaime screened
Luukkonen, who lost sight of the puck as the Wild winger pushed it over the goal line. Less than four minutes later, the Wild went ahead via a five-on-three advantage as Kirill Kaprizov snapped his six-game road goal drought with his 23rd.
However, the Sabres scored three straight to regain the lead. Thompson one-timed a drive with 9:30 remaining in the second, and with 7:58 to go in the middle frame, Dahlin worked himself to an open place in the slot to convert. Buffalo added another less than two minutes later — on the power play — when Dylan Cozens dinged the post and in.
Minnesota stopped the bleeding on Hartman’s net-front deflection.
-Field Level Media
