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Sabres Prevail Over Preds at Home

Jan 31, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby (83) skates away from Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) in the first period at the KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Goatheads dominate on Rob Ray Sabres Hall of Fame Induction Night

Score: Sabres 4 | Predators 3

Shots: BUF 27 | NSH 31

Buffalo Sabres Goals: Ryan McLeod (11), Jiri Kulich (10,11), Jason Zucker (17)

Nashville Predators Goals: Luke Evangelista (5), Brady Skjei (5), Tommy Novak (9)

Plus-1: An Eventful First Period

Following a well-deserved ceremony to honor Rob Ray as he was inducted into the Sabres Hall of Fame, it was an entertaining back-and-forth period between both teams to start the game. After some nice passing between Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, and Ryan McLeod, it was the latter to score on just the team’s second shot of the game to give the home team an early 1-0 lead. Then, after their first power play did not yield a goal (shocking, I know), it was Jiri Kulich who wowed with the his 10th of the season – top shelf “where mama hides the cookies,” as the late great Rick Jeanneret would have said. The goal was really set up beautifully by Rasmus Dahlin during a Nashville line change and Kulich took advantage of it hook, line, and sinker.

However, the Predators answered back quickly to get themselves on the board halfway through the period. Left completely uncovered in front of the net, Luke Evangelista was able to deflect the puck in, right over the glove of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who was seemingly unable to see the initial shot from the point. The Predators then scored again – on another deflection – before the first intermission, tying the game up at two goals apiece.

Minus-1: Three Unanswered

While the first period was fun to watch (for the most part), the Sabres found themselves just two minutes into the second period and trailing for the first time. In other words, Nashville scored three unanswered goals up to that point – a trend that has been haunting Buffalo all season (not necessarily the exact number of three, but you get the idea). If you guessed that it was another deflected goal, you guessed correctly. Bad bounces certainly worked in favor of the visiting team. Luckily, it would be the only time the Predators would snag the lead.

Plus-2: Zuck Ties It Up!

Following a turnover in Nashville’s zone, Jason Zucker earned a big goal on the rush. It was a quick cross-ice pass to linemate Alex Tuch who fed it back to Zucker to tie it up. The puck was flipped over goaltender Justus Annunen’s stick to get the Sabres back in it, and it only continued from there. With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Kulich tallied his second goal – and what ended up being the game-winner – after some good defensive zone structure and an absolute stunner of a pass from Tage Thompson.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a solid win for the Sabres, especially on home ice as the franchise honored alum Rob Ray tonight. Buffalo went 0-for-2 on the power play, which is not ideal, but also did not allow Nashville to score on any of their four man-advantage opportunities.

And, though the third period was somewhat disjointed, there were plenty of scoring opportunities for both sides and, thanks to some excellent saves by UPL and Kulich’s game-winner, Buffalo stayed in it until the final minutes of play.

Three Stars:

1. Jiri Kulich (2G)

2. Rasmus Dahlin (2A)

3. Jason Zucker (1G)

Talking Points