Top star netted the game-winner in the shootout to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan McLeod, and Jason Zucker each scored during regulation for Buffalo, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 16 shots and denied two of three Vegas attempts in the shootout. The win snapped a rough stretch for the Sabres, who had lost seven of their previous eight games.
Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, and Pavel Dorofeyev found the back of the net for the Golden Knights, who have now dropped three of their last four games. Adin Hill was sharp in goal, making 34 saves through regulation and overtime.
Vegas took a late 3-2 lead when Eichel buried his 21st goal of the season with just 2:33 remaining in the third period. However, Rasmus Dahlin answered for Buffalo, scoring his 12th of the year with only 13.6 seconds left to force overtime. Sabres forward Jiri Kulich exited the game at 9:25 of the second period after taking a hit from Brett Howden.
Sabres: Despite missing forwards J.J. Peterka and Josh Norris, Buffalo managed to outshoot Vegas 37-21. Norris, acquired from Ottawa at the trade deadline, was sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Golden Knights: Adin Hill, fresh off signing a six-year, $37.5 million extension, suffered just his second loss in his last seven starts.
With Luukkonen pulled for an extra attacker, Dahlin blasted a slap shot from the blue line past Hill to tie the game and force overtime. The goal made Dahlin the first Sabres defenseman to tie a game in the final minute since Tyler Myers did so against Columbus on January 18, 2014.
Up next, the Sabres will kick off a four-game road trip in Boston on Monday, while the Golden Knights will head to Detroit to take on the Red Wings on Sunday.