Buffalo Sabres at Utah Hockey Club

· National Hockey League

Buffalo Sabres

27-34-6

Final
2 - 5

Utah Hockey Club

31-27-11

Dylan Guenther puts Utah ahead to stay in 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres

Guenther's team-leading 25th goal of the season gave Utah a 3-2 lead before the team added a pair of empty-netters.

Mikhail Sergachev had two goals, including one of the empty-netters, and Logan Cooley also scored a goal. Karel Vejmelka stopped 25 shots.

JJ Peterka scored a goal for the Sabres in his return to the lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury. His power-play goal came with 11 seconds left in the first period.

Ryan McLeod also scored a short-handed goal for Buffalo and James Reimer had 27 saves.

Takeaways Buffalo: The Sabres are in last place in the Eastern Conference but had won three of their previous four before Thursday's loss.

Utah: The Utah Hockey Club earned a critical two points in its quest for a playoff spot. The team is in 11th place in the Western Conference with 73 points, four points behind eighth-place St. Louis, which beat Vancouver 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night.

Key moment Beck Malenstyn's goal 11 seconds into the second period that would have given Buffalo a 2-1 lead was disallowed after a video review for goaltender interference.

Key stat McLeod has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last seven games, including one point in each of his last five contests. His current five-game point streak is tied for the longest of his career (Oct. 12 to 22, 2024).

Up next On Saturday, the Sabres remain on the road at the Minnesota Wild while Utah plays host to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Regular Season Series

UTAH wins series 2-0

Scoring Summary

Goal	1st Period 17:27	Logan Cooley Goal (19) Snap Shot, assists: Nick Schmaltz (38), Clayton Keller (52)
Goal	1st Period 19:49	JJ Peterka Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: Jason Zucker (27), Tage Thompson (26)
Goal	2nd Period 11:50	Mikhail Sergachev Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: Jack McBain (9)
Goal	3rd Period 1:32	Ryan McLeod Goal (16) Backhand, assists: none
Goal	3rd Period 14:13	Dylan Guenther Goal (25) Wrist Shot, assists: Barrett Hayton (22), Michael Carcone (12)
Goal	3rd Period 18:50	Kevin Stenlund Goal (11) , assists: none
Goal	3rd Period 19:41	Mikhail Sergachev Goal (13) Snap Shot, assists: Karel Vejmelka (1)

Statistics

BUF		UTAH
16	Blocked Shots	9
24	Hits	18
2	Takeaways	2
27	Shots	31
1	Power Play Goals	0
5	Power Play Opportunities	4
20.0	Power Play Percentage	0.0
1	Short Handed Goals	1
0	Shootout Goals	0
31	Faceoffs Won	29
51.7	Faceoff Win Percent	48.3
14	Giveaways	11
5	Total Penalties	6
10	Penalty Minutes	12

Utah Hockey Club Injuries

NAME, POS	STATUS	DATE
Barrett Hayton, C	Day-To-Day	Mar 24

Buffalo Sabres Injuries

NAME, POS	STATUS	DATE
Mattias Samuelsson, D	Day-To-Day	Mar 25
Tanner Pearson, LW	Day-To-Day	Mar 22
Jiri Kulich, C	Injured Reserve	Mar 6
Jordan Greenway, LW	Injured Reserve	Feb 25
Justin Danforth, RW	Injured Reserve	Jan 26