Kyle Okposo‘s second goal of the game, early in the third period, gave the Buffalo Sabres a 2-1 lead they would hold for the win over the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.
Jonas Johansson picked up his first NHL win on 25 saves.
Kyle Okposo scored both goals for the Sabres – file photo by Lewis Blieman
“It’s unbelievable really. I’m really thankful for the guys for stepping up like that,” said Johansson, a third-round pick (No. 61) by the Sabres in the 2014 NHL Draft. “I don’t think we gave up any shot really in the last nine, 10 minutes. That’s just unbelievable the way they stepped up there for me and for the rest of the team to get the win.”
Blake Wheeler struck for the Jets’ only goal in the first period when he tied the score.
“It doesn’t matter who you play now,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “These guys think they’ve got a chance to get back into it, so they’re playing hard, and their record’s better than ours in the last seven or eight, so they’re going to be just as hard as beating Washington [on Tuesday]. The opponent isn’t nearly as critical as the desperation that we’ll need from 18 skaters — all of them.”
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Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves in the loss.
“We’ve just got to get over it. We have a lot of hockey to play still,” Wheeler said. “We’re still in the race, a lot to play for. It’s going to happen again. We want to reach our goals; it’s not going to be smooth sailing. There’s going to be adversity. We’ve got a young hockey team that’s learning how to deal with that, and we’ve just got to fight through it.”
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