Brandon Saad's two goals not enough as Blues lose in overtime to Sabres

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Nov 14, 2024

Published in Hockey

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BUFFALO, N.Y — The St. Louis Blues needed this one.

Losers of three in a row and victims of a Boston comeback on Tuesday, the Blues needed a result in Buffalo. They didn't get one.

Rasmus Dahlin scored the game-winning goal with 3:27 remaining in overtime, lifting the Sabres to a 4-3 overtime win on Thursday night.

Brandon Saad scored twice and Pavel Buchnevich tallied once for the Blues. Alex Tuch tied the game at 3 for the Sabres with 7:03 remaining, setting up Dahlin to be the hero.

Oskar Sundqvist was called for goaltender interference late in the third period, and the Sabres played keepaway to enter overtime with a full two-minute four-on-three power play. Power scored on a one-timer on that power play.

Jordan Kyrou hit the post with a shot on the rush with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining in a tied game but did not receive a shift in regulation after that.

Dylan Cozens' would-be game-tying goal at 4:56 of the third period was wiped off the board by a goaltender interference challenge by Blues coach Drew Bannister. Cozens slammed home a rebound at the net front, but Zach Benson was in the crease and made contact with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.

If Bannister's challenge was wrong, and there was no goalie interference, not only would the game have been tied at 3 but the Sabres would have also gone on the power play. Cozens leveled Blues forward Sundqvist in the corner before winning a race to the puck at the net front.

After the goal was reversed, the KeyBank Arena crowd booed during every stoppage.

The Blues continue their three-game trip through Boston on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday.

Welcome contributions

A pair of struggling Blues led the Blues comeback in the second period, as Buchnevich tied the game at 2 more than five minutes into the period and Saad scored his second goal of the game with 2:45 left to give the Blues a 3-2 lead going into the third period.

Buchnevich had not scored a goal at five on five since Oct. 11 in Vegas, as his only goal in the previous 13 games was an empty-netter against the Maple Leafs. Buchnevich cashed in on the rush when he received a drop pass from Kyrou, and Kyrou created space for Buchnevich by driving the net.

For Kyrou, the assist extended his point streak to six games.

Saad’s second of the night came on the edge of the crease as he swept a loose puck in from the back door. All four of Saad’s goals this season have come in two games. Saad was reinstalled in the Blues’ top six on Thursday night after spending Tuesday night on the fourth line playing the fewest minutes of his career in a game in which he did not get injured.

Another one down

Blues defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph left the game just 1:22 into the second period with a lower-body injury suffered during an awkward collision with teammate Justin Faulk and Buffalo’s Benson. Joseph was helped off the ice by Buchnevich and was not putting weight on his left leg.

Toward the end of the second period, the Blues announced that Joseph would not return to the game.

The Blues are already down a handful of defensemen with Nick Leddy (lower body), Philip Broberg (lower body) and Torey Krug (out for the season due to ankle surgery) on the shelf. Joseph was elevated into top-four minutes because of Broberg’s injury, and Thursday was Joseph’s fifth game playing on a pairing with Faulk.

Before the road trip, the Blues recalled defenseman Leo Loof from AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts) to serve as insurance on the back end. Loof practiced Wednesday and skated Thursday but was a healthy scratch in Buffalo. He would be the logical option to enter the lineup should Joseph miss time.

Kasperi Kapanen briefly left the game in the second period after he was high-sticked, but he returned. Radek Faksa left the game about midway through the third period, but he also returned.

Changing tunes

For the second straight game, the Blues gave themselves a 1-0 lead. This time, it was Saad at 3:11 of the first period scoring from the slot on an attempted Brayden Schenn pass that was misplayed by Sabres defenseman Owen Power. The puck slid directly to Saad, and he deposited it for his third goal of the season and first since Oct. 22, when he scored twice against Winnipeg.

Prior to the Boston game on Tuesday, the Blues allowed the first goal in seven straight games.

The Blues could not hold on to the lead, though, and Buffalo scored twice in the first period to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Benson scored with 7:13 left in the first period from below the right circle just as Scott Perunovich’s slashing penalty was expiring, slipping a puck beneath Binnington’s left pad.

Ryan McLeod gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead with 3:11 remaining in the first period, capitalizing on an extended Buffalo possession after multiple failed clearances by Blues players. McLeod’s shot from the right point evaded four bodies at the net front to beat a screened Binnington.

In the first period, the Blues were outshot 16-8. It was the third time this season that St. Louis allowed as many shots on goal in the opening frame.

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