Vegas 5, Buffalo 4
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees:
Graham Skilliter, Tim Peel
Linesmen:
Ryan Gibbons, Brandon Gawryletz
Attendance:
17617
By The Sports Xchange
LAS VEGAS -- Coach Gerard Gallant showed slight amazement when informed his Vegas Golden Knights are only the second NHL franchise in history to win five of its first six games, joining the 1917-18 Montreal Canadiens.
"I didn't know that. I guess we're in some pretty good company," Gallant said with a smile after the Golden Knights prevailed 5-4 in overtime over the Sabres. Buffalo scored three goals in the last 10 minutes of the third period to force OT.
"I think this team is better than what people expected. After the expansion draft, I looked at our team and I was very impressed. Even our so-called bottom six guys are competitive guys who work hard every night. There's not a lot of pressure on us being an expansion team. They're having a lot of fun."
Left winger David Perron's second goal of the game, with 1:08 left in overtime, gave the Golden Knights (5-1-0) the victory in front of a crowd of 17,617 at T-Mobile Arena.
Perron's game-winner was a strong wrist shot from the slot that eluded Buffalo goalie Chad Johnson. Perron had not scored a goal this season entering the game.
"I always pride myself to put in the work, and it finally paid off," said Perron, an 11-year veteran who has 21 game-winning goals in his career. "I try to have confidence in my shot. It's good to see a couple of shots finally go in."
Buffalo (1-4-2) scored two goals in the last 1:58 of regulation after pulling Johnson with three minutes remaining.
The Sabres' last goal came with 8.9 seconds left when left winger Evander Kane batted a loose puck past Vegas goaltender Malcolm Subban.
Buffalo netted two power-play goals in the third, including center Sam Reinhart's tally with 1:58 left.
"We showed a lot of resiliency in the third period, and we finally started to get to our game," Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. "Our lack of preparation and the way we started the game and our penalties, stick infractions, took a lot of energy out of us.
"I just think it was unacceptable the way we approached the game. We had the chance to build on something (coming off the Sabres' first win of the season Sunday at Anaheim). I know this is a process, but the process was a little broken tonight."
Vegas rookie Alex Tuch highlighted the win, scoring his second goal in as many games after he was recalled from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL last weekend.
James Neal had two assists for Vegas. Golden Knights center Oscar Lindberg and right winger Reilly Smith also scored goals.
In the second period, when Vegas built a 3-1 lead, Lindberg netted his third of the season, and Smith scored a power-play goal as his wrist shot from inside the left circle beat Johnson.
"We are a younger team per se being an expansion team, but usually younger guys have a lot of energy," Tuch said. "The guys kept it upbeat on the bench in overtime, and Coach said we just have to get back to what we were doing -- attack and play confident.
"I think the guys did in overtime, and we controlled the puck the entire time."
Smith, who assisted Lindberg's goal in the first period, scored his goal with 1:23 left in the second period. It was the Golden Knights' first conversion on a power play Tuesday after they came up empty four times previously.
Buffalo defenseman Marco Scandella was in the penalty box for slashing, occurring with 2:33 left in the period.
Subban, claimed off waivers from Boston on Oct. 3, started his second game in place of injured veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who is on the injured reserve list with a concussion.
Subban finished with 30 saves after recording 21 in a 3-1 win over Boston on Sunday in the first NHL start of his career.
Johnson made 26 saves.
NOTES: The Sabres were trying to win in consecutive visits to Pacific Division teams for the first time since the team won six straight from Jan. 6, 2011, to Nov. 5, 2013. Buffalo beat Anaheim 3-1 on Sunday. ... Vegas G Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), F Erik Haula (undisclosed), F Jonathan Marchessault (lower-body injury) and D Clayton Stoner (abdominal injury) are on the injured reserve list. ... F Vadim Shipachyov, a Russian-born player, scored the game-winning goal in Vegas' 3-1 win over Boston in his NHL debut on Sunday. Shipachyov is only the second player in NHL history to score the winning goal in his NHL debut playing for an expansion team. Buffalo Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault accomplished the feat against Pittsburgh on Oct. 10, 1970. ... Buffalo has three players on injured reserve -- D Justin Falk (undisclosed), LW Evan Rodrigues (hand) and D Zach Bogosian (lower-body injury). RW Kyle Okposo is day-to-day with the flu.
Top Game Performances
Buffalo |
|
Vegas |
Evander Kane 3 |
Points |
David Perron 2 |
Ryan O'Reilly 2 |
Goals |
David Perron 2 |
Evander Kane 2 |
Assists |
James Neal 2 |
Ryan O'Reilly 2 |
Power Play Goals |
Reilly Smith 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Chad Johnson .839 |
Save Percentage |
Malcolm Subban .882 |
Chad Johnson 26 |
Saves |
Malcolm Subban 30 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Buffalo
|
34 |
4 |
3-5 |
4-5 |
10 |
33 |
Vegas
|
31 |
5 |
1-5 |
2-5 |
10 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Vegas will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .750 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
-
Buffalo will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Sabres have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .167 after a loss.