Less than 24 hours after a frustrating loss, Buffalo found a way to grind one out, battling back and eventually taking down the Seattle Kraken 3-2 in a shootout at KeyBank Center.
For a while, it looked like it might be more of the same.
Buffalo came out with jump, controlling possession early and getting a power play inside the first three minutes, but couldn’t capitalize. As the period wore on, that early sharpness faded. Passes started missing, the pace slowed, and Seattle took advantage when Chandler Stephenson ripped home a one-timer to give the Kraken a 1-0 lead.
It was a familiar feeling — good stretches, but nothing to show for it.
The second period only added to that frustration. Buffalo tilted the ice for long stretches, generating chance after chance, but couldn’t solve Philipp Grubauer. A sequence midway through the period summed it up perfectly: a near-goal by Sam Carrick at one end that missed by inches, followed almost immediately by Seattle heading the other way and scoring to make it 2-0.
At that point, it easily could’ve slipped away.
Instead, Buffalo kept pushing — and finally got rewarded. On the power play, Rasmus Dahlin stepped into a slapshot and buried it, not only cutting the deficit to one, but marking the 100th goal of his NHL career.
That moment seemed to change everything.
Buffalo carried that energy into the third, continuing to press until Peyton Krebs found the equalizer midway through the period, tying the game at 2-2. It was a big one for Krebs — his first career game-tying goal in the third period — and it capped off another strong showing against Seattle, a team he’s consistently had success against.
From there, it turned into a grind.
Both teams had their chances late, but neither could break through, sending Buffalo to overtime for the third time in four games. When that solved nothing, it came down to the shootout — and that’s where the Sabres have been money all season.
Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson both converted, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shut the door, making two shootout saves to secure the win.
Luukkonen was a big part of this one from start to finish, stopping 32 shots before the shootout and earning first-star honors.
In the end, Buffalo outshot Seattle 36-34 and dominated long stretches of play, but had to earn every bit of this win.
It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t clean. But it was exactly the kind of response good teams find this time of year.
And with the win, the Sabres now sit just one victory away from 2,000 in franchise history, and on the verge of their first playoff berth in well over a decade.