National Hockey League
Buffalo 3, Edmonton 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 2, 2020
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: T.J. Luxmore, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 19070

Jack Eichel scored on a penalty shot in overtime as the Buffalo Sabres rallied to snap a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Eichel, who was awarded the shot after being harassed enough while breaking to the net at just 1:09 into the extra session, went wide and then skated in on Edmonton netminder Mike Smith (23 saves). The Sabres star then shot up top and past Smith for his 26th goal of the season to give the hosts their second victory in nine games.

Eichel has six goals in nine career games versus Edmonton.

Buffalo trailed 2-0 early in the first period, but fought back to drop Edmonton to 5-10-2 since late November. It was also a third consecutive road defeat for the Oilers, who opened a five-game trip away from home.

Edmonton opened the scoring 5:06 into the game. Riley Sheahan was at the doorstep to sneak the puck into a relatively empty net off a Josh Archibald deflection in front of the net.

Less than two minutes later, the Oilers made it 2-0. This time, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the beneficiary of Edmonton drawing traffic in front of Sabres netminder Linus Ullmark (25 saves) to drive home his third goal in four games.

Buffalo managed to cut the Oilers' deficit to 2-1 when Curtis Lazar put in a wraparound attempt by Marcus Johansson with 11:21 left in the first.

Neither team found the net in the second period, but the Sabres managed to tie the game at 2-2 early on the third. Zach Bogosian drove a shot from the point that Sam Reinhart deflected in for his 13th of goal of the season and career No. 100 at 3:53 into the third period.

Talented Buffalo rookie Victor Olofsson, second on the team with 34 points, suffered an apparent leg injury early in the third period.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Edmonton   Buffalo
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1 Points Jack Eichel 1
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1 Goals Jack Eichel 1
Josh Archibald 1 Assists Zach Bogosian 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Mike Smith .885 Save Percentage Linus Ullmark .926
Mike Smith 23 Saves Linus Ullmark 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Edmonton 27 2 0-1 2-2 4 32
Buffalo 26 3 0-2 1-1 2 17
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Florida. The Sabres have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .417 after a loss.
  • Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Oilers have a W/L % of .381 after a win and .591 after a loss.