Ryan McLeod scored a goal and contributed three assists, and James Reimer stopped 33 shots as the Buffalo Sabres surprised the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-3 victory on Sunday.
The Jets were aiming for just one point to secure a spot in the NHL playoffs. They still have a chance to clinch if the St. Louis Blues lose to the Nashville Predators later on Sunday.
J.J. Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin, Tyson Kozak, and Alex Tuch also contributed goals for the Sabres (27-36-6). Jacob Bernard-Docker provided two assists.
Buffalo, currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, was coming off a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Nino Niederreiter, Colin Miller, and Nikolaj Ehlers were the goal scorers for the Jets (48-19-4), who were starting a four-game home stand. Logan Stanley assisted on two goals.
Backup goalie Eric Comrie made 12 saves for Winnipeg in his 18th start of the season, with a record of 8 wins, 9 losses, and 1 overtime loss.
Peterka opened the scoring for the Sabres at 9:15 of the first period, beating Comrie with a shot to the glove side for his 22nd goal of the season.
Niederreiter equalized on a power play at 2:05 of the second period in a slightly fortunate manner. The puck rebounded off Reimer’s pad, hitting Buffalo defender Beck Malenstyn’s skate before going into the net.
