Sabres rally late to beat Canucks 4-3 in shootout

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart rallied Buffalo with goals late in the third period, Jack Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt scored in the shootout and the Sabres beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Saturday.

With goalie Carter Hutton pulled for an extra attacker, Skinner got Buffalo within 3-2 with 2:27 left in the third, and Reinhart tied it 40 seconds later. Nathan Beaulieu also scored, and Rasmus Ristolainen and Rasmus Dahlin each had two assists in the Sabres' second straight overtime win.

Carter Hutton made 36 saves and stopped two shots in the shootout, including a final denial moments after Mittelstadt's go-ahead score.

Loui Eriksson had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who are 4-0-2 in their last six games. Jake Virtanen and Erik Gudbranson also scored, Antoine Roussel had two assists and Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 shots in the third leg of a six-game trip.

As the clock ticked down in the third, Reinhart set up Skinner for his team-leading 12th goal, then tied it when he put back a rebound from Ristolainen's slap shot at the left edge of the crease.

Gudbranson gave the Canucks a 3-1 lead on a long shot from the point 3:41 into the third.

The Canucks scored twice in a span of 1:10 late in the second period to take a 2-1 advantage. Markus Granlund sent a backhand pass from the end board to Eriksson in front for a tying goal with 1:44 remaining in the period. Virtanen skated around defenseman Zach Bogosian and slid a backhand from the right circle into the far corner for his seventh goal of the season to put Vancouver ahead.

Buffalo gained an early lead when Kyle Okposo threaded a long pass from the point to Beaulieu for a tap-in 4:43 into the first.

The Canucks were without Brock Boeser for a third straight game. Coach Travis Green said Boeser will miss the remaining three games of the team's trip while he recovers from a groin injury. A Calder Trophy finalist last season, Boeser is listed as week-to-week but "will be fine," Green said prior to Saturday's game.

Game notes

Eichel went to the dressing room midway through the first period with an undisclosed injury but returned eight minutes into the second. ... This was the first meeting between Swedish rookie defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Elias Pettersson. The Sabres drafted Dahlin with the No. 1 overall pick this year, and Pettersson was drafted fifth overall in 2017 by the Canucks. Pettersson entered Saturday leading all rookies with 10 goals and 17 points. ... Buffalo traded D Taylor Fedun to Dallas for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft. The pick is conditional on Fedun playing at least 25 regular season and playoff games for the Stars. Fedun has played with the Sabres' minor league club this season. ... Gudbranson extended his career-best point streak to five games. ... Sabres F Zemgus Girgensons was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. He was replaced on the fourth line by Tage Thompson.

UP NEXT

Canucks: At New York Rangers on Monday night.

Sabres: Host Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

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