National Hockey League
Buffalo 5, Minnesota 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Jake Brenk, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Devin Berg, Steve Miller
Attendance: 16847

Buffalo's Sam Reinhart scored the only shootout goal, carrying the Sabres to a 5-4 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark stopped Victor Rask and Jason Zucker in the shootout before Reinhart's shot went off the blocker of Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk and trickled in to open the third round.

Ullmark then stuffed Zach Parise to end the game but was shaken up when Parise's hip hit his head. With his teammates celebrating, Ullmark immediately left the ice and headed to the dressing room.

Reinhart also had a regulation goal and an assist, and Evan Rodrigues, C.J. Smith and Rasmus Dahlin also scored for the Sabres, who broke a two-game losing streak. Jack Eichel recorded two assists.

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon netted two goals, Charlie Coyle and Parise each added a goal, and Luke Kunin and Ryan Suter posted a pair of assists apiece for the Wild, who have lost three straight.

Ullmark made 41 saves in the win, and Dubnyk stopped 35 shots.

Buffalo went up 1-0 at 4:31 of the first period on the game's first power play. Rodrigues zipped a high shot into the top right corner for his seventh goal.

Spurgeon tied it with his tally in the second period when he batted in a puck that Ullmark deflected up in the air. Smith, just recalled from AHL Rochester on Monday, finished a slick feed from Reinhart to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead just 63 seconds later.

Dahlin, 18, snapped in a wrister for his sixth goal at 11:33 to give Buffalo its first two-goal lead.

However, Spurgeon skated around behind Ullmark's goal and slammed in his second goal of the game and 10th this season at 13:43 to trim the Wild's deficit to 3-2.

Coyle later kept the puck alive twice during extended zone time along the board and soon pounced on a rebound for his 10th goal at 17:05. The tally knotted the game at 3 after two periods.

Reinhart buried a diagonal pass from Jake McCabe for a 4-3 lead at 6:25 of the third, and Buffalo appeared headed to a victory.

However, Parise's jam shot trickled over Ullmark's skate to tie it at 4 at 18:23 with the Minnesota net empty for the extra skater.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Buffalo
Jared Spurgeon 2 Points Sam Reinhart 2
Jared Spurgeon 2 Goals Sam Reinhart 1
Luke Kunin 2 Assists Jack Eichel 2
N/A Power Play Goals Rasmus Dahlin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Devan Dubnyk .897 Save Percentage Linus Ullmark .911
Devan Dubnyk 35 Saves Linus Ullmark 41
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 45 4 0-3 0-2 4 31
Buffalo 39 5 2-2 3-3 6 33
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Sabres have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Wild have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .481 after a loss.