Power caps Sabres comeback as busy NHL night delivers drama

Owen Power delivered the decisive blow in Buffalo on Tuesday, scoring 4:22 into overtime as the Sabres climbed out of a two-goal hole to defeat the Minnesota Wild 3-2. The comeback at KeyBank Center continued an early-season trend for Buffalo, which has now won back-to-back games after trailing through 40 minutes.

Sabres rally late, Thompson hits 400-point mark

Minnesota grabbed control late in the second period when Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov struck just 1:45 apart to build a 2-0 lead. The Sabres answered in the third, with Tage Thompson and Noah Ostlund scoring six minutes apart to pull the game level.

In overtime, Thompson drove the net and fired wide, but Jiri Kulich corralled the loose puck and found Power, who snapped home the winner inside the left post. Third-string netminder Colten Ellis, making his season debut while co-starter Alex Lyon recovers from a shoulder injury, stopped 18 shots and turned aside all three he faced in the extra frame.

Buffalo also erased a deficit in its home opener against Chicago, and Thompson’s goal on Tuesday doubled as his 400th career point with the Sabres. He became just the ninth player in franchise history to reach that plateau in 491 games or fewer.

Utah’s power play rolls, Larkin scores in return

In Newark, Nick Schmaltz netted his league-leading fifth goal of the young season as the Utah Mammoth downed the New Jersey Devils 5-3. Clayton Keller, MacKenzie Weegar, Lawson Crouse and Vincent Trocheck also scored for Utah, which continued its torrid pace on the power play with two goals on four opportunities and eight conversions on 13 chances overall this season.

Defenceman Mikhail Sergachev picked up three assists to surpass 300 for his career before exiting late in the second period after a puck struck the back of his helmet. Luke Evangelista scored twice and Jesper Boqvist added a goal for the Devils, but Karel Vejmelka’s 30 saves helped Utah record its first-ever victory over New Jersey after four previous losses by the franchise.

In Detroit, Dylan Larkin scored in his first appearance since requesting a trade, helping the Red Wings to a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Initially greeted with boos on his early touches, Larkin scored in the opening period to give Detroit a lead it held the rest of the way. Alex DeBrincat led the attack with two goals and an assist, Justin Faulk and Viktor Arvidsson added markers, and John Gibson finished with 22 saves. Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle and William Eklund replied for Ottawa, while Samuel Ersson stopped 31 shots.

Leafs, Rangers and Hurricanes win goal-filled games

In Toronto, Auston Matthews capped a huge night with the overtime winner and three assists in regulation as the Maple Leafs stormed back from three goals down to edge the Nashville Predators 5-4. William Nylander, John Tavares, Jack Roslovic and first-overall pick Gavin McKenna supplied the goals in regulation. McKenna’s tally was his first in the NHL, and he also recorded his first point with an assist on Tavares’ marker.

Steven Stamkos and Nils Hoglander each scored twice for Nashville, with Filip Forsberg adding two assists. Stamkos’s first goal of the night was the 626th of his career, moving him past Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla on the NHL’s all-time goals list and leaving him one rung below Dave Andreychuk, who sits 16th with 640.

In Manhattan, Alexis Lafrenière recorded a hat trick and added an assist as the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to four games with a 5-2 victory over the rival New York Islanders. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, Mika Zibanejad collected three assists and Igor Shesterkin made 17 saves. Islanders captain Bo Horvat and youngster Calum Ritchie scored in a losing cause, while Semyon Varlamov allowed three goals on 22 shots in his first NHL action since November 2024 after major knee surgery.

In Montreal, Taylor Hall scored twice to power the Carolina Hurricanes past the Canadiens in their home opener at the Bell Centre. Sebastian Aho chipped in a goal and two assists, with Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski each posting a goal and an assist, and Andrei Svechnikov adding an empty-netter. Zachary Bolduc scored twice for Montreal, Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky also scored in the clubs’ first regular-season meeting in Montreal since Carolina knocked the Canadiens out in last spring’s Eastern Conference final.