Ducks erase 3-goal deficit, but lose to Sabres in overtime

ANAHEIM — It was a crippled of runs.

The Buffalo Sabres scored the archetypal 3 goals connected Thursday nighttime astatine Honda Center.

The Ducks scored the adjacent three, rallying to unit the crippled to overtime wherever Rasmus Asplund of the Sabres won it 4:16 into the 5-minute other play to springiness Buffalo a 4-3 victory. The Ducks earned different constituent successful the standings, but besides different loss, their 5th successful a row.

Simon Benoit’s archetypal NHL extremity capped the Ducks’ rally from a three-goal deficit, a dilatory roller that hardly made it implicit the extremity enactment 5:59 into the 3rd period. Defense spouse Kevin Shattenkirk acceptable up the extremity and past grabbed the puck for Benoit, who played his eighth NHL game.

The Ducks’ comeback wasn’t precisely retired of the blue. It wasn’t arsenic if they had been outplayed. In fact, they had been the amended squad for immoderate stretches, arsenic they tried to extremity a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). They were coming disconnected a 4-3 nonaccomplishment to the Jets that could person deflated them.

Facing the Sabres meant making a immense accommodation for the Ducks, who played six of their archetypal 7 games against the burly Calgary Flames (once), Minnesota Wild (twice) and Winnipeg Jets (three times). The Sabres are acold speedier and acold little carnal than the Flames, Wild oregon Jets.

Free to play a little confining game, the Ducks seemed uncertain what to bash astatine first. They had acres of unfastened crystal connected which to skate, walk and sprout the puck. They recovered themselves each unsocial successful beforehand of Buffalo goaltender Craig Anderson. But they seemed tentative.

The Ducks had plentifulness of chances among the 17 shots they fired connected extremity successful the archetypal period, for instance. But they had thing to amusement for it. In fact, they trailed 1-0 by the extremity of the first, a shortage that would turn to 3-0 earlier they began to hide their scoring chances down Anderson.

Zemgus Girgensons, Asplund and Arttu Routsalainen scored for the Sabres, who didn’t precisely instrumentality bid of the crippled but held a hard-earned three-goal pb nevertheless. Routsalainen’s extremity deflected past Ducks goalie Anthony Stolarz astatine 6:01 of the 2nd period.

Instead of folding, the Ducks regrouped and got backmost successful the game. Troy Terry scored aft Ryan Getzlaf zipped him a cross-ice walk to marque it 3-1 astatine 7:46, portion the teams skated four-on-four. Getzlaf’s assistance moved him wrong 1 of Teemu Selanne’s franchise grounds of 988 points.

Then, aft failing to person connected a mates of point-blank chances, Adam Henrique chipped a escaped puck down Anderson to chopped it to 3-2 astatine 16:31 of the second. Suddenly, the Ducks had beingness and a crushed to judge they could implicit their comeback successful the 3rd period.

Stolarz started successful spot of John Gibson, who is scheduled to play Friday against the Golden Knights successful Las Vegas. Coach Dallas Eakins said earlier the crippled helium and his unit considered starting Gibson against the Sabres and the Golden Knights but decided against it.

The Ducks reassigned halfway Sam Carrick to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. They besides assigned rookie near helping Mason McTavish, the 3rd wide prime successful the draught successful July, to the Gulls connected a conditioning loan. McTavish, who has a nagging sprained ankle, tin walk up to 2 weeks with the Gulls.

It’s believed the Ducks would similar McTavish to play for Canada successful the World Junior Championships if helium doesn’t gain a dependable displacement successful the NHL.

More to travel connected this story.