Garland has 3 points, Canucks recover to defeat Sabres in OT

Dylan Cozens had a goal and an assist, and Zach Benson had two assists for the Sabres (11-10-2), who have lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves.

“We played with desperation and that's what this team has,” Cozens said. “We don't have any quit, we're going to battle until the last buzzer and we're going to keep fighting until the game's over.”

Cozens’ wrist shot from the right face-off dot beat Lankinen far side to cut it to 3-2 at 13:18 of the third period.

Alex Tuch tied it 3-3 at 14:57 when his redirection of Benson’s shot from high along the left wall looped over Lankinen.

Bowen Byram gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 17:33 of the first period. Benson threaded a seam pass to Byram at the front of the net for a tap-in.

“It was one of those things where he kicks it, makes a [heck] of a drive and takes two guys with him,” Benson said. “I was in the position where I was like, gonna shoot, gonna shoot. Then last second I wanted to sauce it, and it kind of came off my stick funny but landed in a perfect area. Obviously, he made an elite play.”

DeBrusk tied it 1-1 at 18:12 of the second period. Luukkonen made the save on Suter’s shot from the slot but couldn’t corral the rebound, and DeBrusk slipped it five-hole.

Garland tapped in a pass from Boeser at the side of the net on the power play to make it 2-1 at 5:15 of the third period.

Suter extended it to 3-1 when he scored glove side on a breakaway at 9:00. Garland laid out to block a slap shot from Tage Thompson at the blue line, which redirected right in the path of Suter to send him in alone.

“I’ve played with ‘Tommer’ at World Championships, I actually was feeding him one-timers on the power play, so I know how hard he hits it,” Garland said. “So I was a little nervous dropping there, but fortunate it caught me in the right spot and bounced to ‘Sutes’, and great finish. He’s been playing great for us.”

NOTES: Hughes’ assist on Garland’s goal in overtime was the 310th of his career, tying him with Alexander Edler for seventh-most in Canucks history. … Lankinen’s road winning streak is tied with Cam Talbot (2023-24) and Glenn Hall (1965-66) for longest in NHL history. … Vancouver defenseman Filip Hronek missed the game with an undisclosed injury sustained in the final minute of a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. Coach Rick Tocchet said before the game against Buffalo that the defenseman was still being evaluated. … Byram’s goal was the 30th of his career in his 187th game to become the fifth-fastest active defenseman to reach the mark after Cale Makar (119 games), Zach Werenski (168 games), Shayne Gostisbehere (171 games) and Aaron Ekblad (175 games). … Sabres forward Sam Lafferty left the game after the first period with a lower-body injury. Coach Lindy Ruff said postgame he expected him to be out Saturday against the New York Islanders. … Buffalo recalled forward Tyson Kozak from Rochester of the American Hockey League after the game.