BUFFALO – It was about to be one heck of a penalty kill for the Sabres. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson cleared the puck down down the ice, seemingly extinguishing the power play the Minnesota Wild carried into Saturday afternoon’s overtime.
But Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson skated out to the left circle and quickly flung the puck up to Kirill Kaprizov at the Buffalo blue line as the Sabres changed. Kaprizov skated in and fed Mats Zuccarello, who beat goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the left circle to clinch Minnesota’s 5-4 win 1:46 into overtime.
One second remained in Sabres center Peyton Krebs’ hooking penalty.
“Our guys were dead tired,” coach Lindy Ruff said following just the Sabres’ third loss in their last 18 games (15-2-1). “I mean, we had an unbelievable kill going to that point. I don’t think we gave them a shot. … I’ve got to give their goalie a lot of credit. He just read the play, got out there and they quick-upped it. It hurt us.”
When Krebs was whistled for the infraction, it appeared he was about to zoom down the ice for one final chance in regulation.
“I didn’t think I had a penalty at all,” Krebs said. “I just kind of tapped his pants.”
The Sabres hadn’t been penalized since early in the second period, so Ruff knew something would be called against them.
“We’d had the calls to that point,” he said. “It’s a situation where you just can’t put your stick on them there.”
Still, the Sabres, who closed a five-game home stand, earned one point, their 57th this season.
Over the past five weeks, they’ve consistently responded to adversity, finding a way to win.
On Saturday before a capacity crowd of 19,070 fans in KeyBank Center, they fell behind 1-0 in the first period and 3-1 early in the second, when the Wild held an 8-0 shot advantage at one point.
But the Sabres roared back halfway through the period, getting goals from Krebs, Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn in a span of six minutes grab a 4-3 lead.
What changed?
“We got the pucks in behind them,” Ruff said. “I thought we got to the inside. Some of the shots we took from tough angles just generated chaos. I think on the Quinn goal, we had four attempts on net before we scored. I think Quinner had two or three whacks at it before he actually put it in, which was good. I think that’s what got us going.”
Wild newcomer Quinn Hughes, the 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner, tied the game 17:04 into the second period.
The Sabres have looked rock solid for much of their recent run, showcasing strong puck play and decision making.
They looked wonky against the Wild.
“It was a game where both teams made some big mistakes, and both teams took advantage of mistakes,” Ruff said. “We gave up two goals on line changes, and we got a couple goals off of turnovers. Our puck play wasn’t as good inside the game, which, I think that hurt us.”
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Sabres rookie Konsta Helenius, 19, skated in Saturday’s pregame warm-up but was scratched for the second straight game.
The Sabres recalled Helenius, one of their top prospects, on Thursday after center Josh Norris suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Ruff said before Saturday’s game the oft-injured Norris is still day to day.
Helenius has stood out all season with the Rochester Americans, scoring nine goals and 30 points in 34 games.
Recalls have thrust the Finn, the 13th overall pick in 2024, into the role of the Amerks’ No. 1 center.
“I think it’s just a young man progressing that we think a lot of,” Ruff said. “The way he plays, he can make plays, he can score, he’s got some bite in his game. His game is really coming. I think that’s the value of playing and playing a lot.”
If Helenius plays during his recall, Ruff wants to put him in a position to succeed.
“I think about what he is as a player, and when he does play, he has to play, in my eyes, has to play in that top nine is where he needs to play to be effective,” he said. “I think we’ve seen where (Isak) Rosen, (Noah) Ostlund, those guys have been playing in the top nine, it’s where they play.”
The Sabres play Monday and Tuesday, and winger Jordan Greenway usually doesn’t play back-to-back games as part of his load-management plan, so Helenius could make his NHL debut in the coming days.
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In his return after a high ankle sprain that sidelined him seven games, Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring made his presence known early, hitting the post and fighting Marcus Foligno in the first period.
“Awesome job,” Ruff said of Kesselring’s first outing since Dec. 31. “I thought he struggled just with the puck a little bit, first game back, which I think sometimes can be understandable.
“I mean, not a lot of practice time under pressure. When you practice a couple drills under pressure, you start feeling a lot better. But that’ll come for him.”
Kesselring, who has battled injuries all season and played just 17 games, also had his nose bloodied in the second period when David Jiricek hit him in the face.
To make room for Kesselring, the Sabres scratched defenseman Jacob Bryson. Kesselring took Bryson’s spot rookie Zach Metsa, a righty who moved to the left side.
Notes: Center Ryan McLeod scored the Sabres’ first goal. … Luukkonen, who made 30 saves, had his seven-game home winning streak snapped. … Tuch’s goal, a power-play tally, marked the third straight game the Sabres scored on the man advantage … The Wild played without three of their top forwards: Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson (all injured).
