JJ Peterka’s shootout goal delivered the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center.

Zach Benson and Tage Thompson scored the goals for Buffalo while Peterka, Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin and Jacob Bryson each had an assist. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen picked up his sixth win of the season after making 24 saves on 26 shots.

Matt Coronato and Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames and Dan Vladar had 17 saves on 19 shots.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Period

Buffalo continued where they left off from their 6-1 win against the New York Rangers on Monday, taking less than two minutes to score.

Bryson took a shot from the blue line that went off Vladar’s pad, allowing Benson to crash the net and backhand the rebound past the Flames netminder just 1:11 into the contest. The goal was Benson’s third point in the last two games.

Later in the period on a Sabres power play, Thompson positioned himself just above the left faceoff dot and buried a one-timer for his team-leading 10th goal. The shot blew by Vladar at 93.9 mph, his 10th shot over 90 mph this season.

Second Period

Defense prevailed for much of the period, with the two teams combining for just 11 shots on goal.

Coronato buried a feed from MacKenzie Weegar at the backdoor to put the Flames on the board with 2:16 remaining. The play occurred while Dennis Gilbert and Justin Kirkland were tied up at the red line – both incurring roughing penalties – but no whistle was blown and the goal counted following a discussion among officials.

Third Period

Jonathan Huberdeau collected a rebound in front and passed to Backlund, who picked the far-side corner from the left faceoff circle to tie the game at 2-2 with 4:20 remaining.

Overtime & Shootout

Despite Calgary having a 4-on-3 for the final 1:20 of overtime after the Sabres took a bench minor for too many men on the ice, the Sabres were able to successfully kill the penalty to send the game to a shootout.

Luukkonen stopped all three Flames attempts, while JJ Peterka sent one past Vladar to deliver the Sabres the victory.

GAME PHOTOS

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

The Sabres will host the Montreal Canadiens on Monday afternoon at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Tickets are available here.