“We always know they come with a heavy push, first 10-15 minutes,” Dahlin said. “When you get by that, you can start playing.”
Indeed, Buffalo leveled the ice in the second period but ran into a new obstacle in Bussi, whose period included the glove save on Thompson, a sliding stop on a Dahlin one-timer and a helmet save on Owen Power in the slot, among others.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who finished with 26 saves on 28 shots, was just as good at the other end in the second. His biggest save of the period denied Alexander Nikishin on a partial breakaway, so they were tied 1-1 through 40 minutes.
Early in the third period, Owen Power’s light shove on Logan Stankoven was called for tripping, and it took just seven seconds on the power play for Carolina’s Seth Jarvis to score the go-ahead goal.
“I didn’t like the call. It’s so minimal, with what was going on in the game,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “But we need to kill that off.”
The Sabres made a strong push for a tying goal in the back half of the period, especially in the final minute with Luukkonen pulled. An extended wall battle popped out to an open Thompson at the left circle, but Bussi saved Thompson’s initial shot with 19 seconds remaining, plus the series of attempts that followed.