Frank Vatrano Leads Anaheim to Comeback Win

Anaheim escaped their matinee matchup Tuesday with a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

All-Star Frank Vatrano scored twice for the Ducks. Troy Terry and Adam Henrique added a goal each, and Mason McTavish added three assists. Troy Terry added a pair of assists as well for a three point game. Jordan Greenway, Tage Thompson, and Zach Benson were the goal scorers for the Sabres. Dylan Cozens added two assists.

The Ducks completed the season sweep of the Sabres with a come from behind effort led by Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry.

The game started with a Jordan Greenway snapshot at 9:01 to give the Sabres an early 1-0 lead. 

Just a minute later, it was Ross Johnston forcing the turnover in the Buffalo zone. He passed it along to Max Jones who delivered a backwards pass to a wide open Adam Henrique whose snapshot tied the game at one.

Despite only managing four shots on goal the Ducks went to the locker room tied with Buffalo at one. 

The second period saw tons of action. At 8:10 Tage Thompson’s  slap shot from the far left side of the left circle beat John Gibson to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead. Then in the span of 2:35 Frank Vatrano scored two goals both assisted by Mason McTavish and Troy Terry. Giving the Ducks a 3-2 lead.

A Zach Benson tip-in at 15:20 in the second would tie things up at three goals a piece. 

At 18:56 in the period Mason McTavish would intercept a pass from Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He would then squeak out a pass to Troy Terry whose snapshot beat  Luukkonen giving the Ducks a one goal lead after two periods.

The third period was a goalie show as neither team managed a goal despite every effort from Buffalo who challenged goaltender John Gibson with 10 shots. The Ducks only added two of their own in what was a 15 shot day for them.

Gibson faced 37 shots in the game and made just enough for the win. 

The Ducks managed to gain four points winning two games on their four game road trip. They will return home on Wednesday when they will face the Metropolitan’s worst team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus has 44 points on the year and are 17-26-10. Johnny Gaudreau is riding a six game point streak for the Jackets. He has tallied eight assists in that span. It will be key for the Ducks to keep physical with Gaudreau and prevent him from bringing the puck into the offensive zone.

You can catch Wednesday’s action at 10:00 P.M. EST 7:00 P.M. PST on Bally Sports OH, SD, and SC as well as NHL Power Play on ESPN+.

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Featured image via NHL.com