The Buffalo Sabres got two goals from Dylan Cozens in the second period and numerous saves from Dustin Tokarski late in the third period to hold on to a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night at KeyBank Center.
Each team had a goal reviewed and overturned in the first 10 minutes of the first period. Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse had thought he scored a goal and the call on the ice was a goal, but after video review, the puck never crossed the goal line.
Meanwhile, Arttu Ruotsalainen thought he had scored a good goal to give Buffalo a lead. However, after review, it was deemed that his stick was above the cross bar of the Oilers goal when he made contact with a point shot from defenseman Jacob Bryson.
Anders Bjork opened the scoring early in the second period when he walked in and finished a breakaway chance after picking the pocket of Edmonton defenseman Cody Ceci. It was Bjork's third of the season and unassisted.
The Sabres lost the lead shortly after after giving up two power play goals to Leon Draisaitl.
Driasaitl scored after a dubious call on Bryson to even the score at 1-1, and then he would score again on a one-time feed from Connor McDavid that rocketed through Tokarski.
Just under seven minutes later, Cozens scored to tie the game at 2-2 on a shot that got past goalie Stuart Skinner. It was Cozens' second of the season from Drake Caggiula.
Cozens scored again with 50 seconds remaining in the period after the Oilers' defense lost track of him on a Buffalo offensive transition into the zone. After Vinnie Hinostroza was stopped by Skinner on a breakaway chance, Cozens cleaned up the rebound to give Buffalo the lead going into intermission.
Tokarski made several big stops late in the third period, including chances from McDavid and Draisaitl to preserve the victory. 14 of Tokarski's 33 saves on the night came in the final 20 minutes of play.
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GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
EDM: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 2:16 - Anders Bjork (3) (Unassisted); 13:56 - Dylan Cozens (2) (Drake Caggiula); 19:10 - Dylan Cozens (3) (Vinnie Hinostroza, Mark Pysyk)
EDM: 4:08 - Leon Draisaitl (13) PPG (Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins); 6:57 - Leon Draisaitl (14) PPG (Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
EDM: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 11:23 - Zemgus Girgensons (Hooking - 2 min.); 14:17 - Arttu Ruotsalainen (High-sticking - 2 min.); 18:55 - Mark Pysyk (Holding - 2 min.)
EDM: 12:44 - Jesse Puljujarvi (Interference - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 3:38 - Jacob Bryson (Hooking - 2 min.); 5:59 - Colin Miller (Slashing - 2 min.); 8:40 - Robert Hagg (Hooking - 2 min.)
EDM: 4:49 - Darnell Nurse (Holding - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
EDM: 7:43 - Brendan Perlini (Hooking - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Dylan Cozens - BUF
2.) Dustin Tokarski - BUF
3.) Leon Draisaitl - EDM
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What's next:
The Sabres are right back in action on Saturday night when they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs to KeyBank Center for the first time since Feb. 16, 2020. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EST with Sabres pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol.
