With the game tied 2-2, Buffalo outshot Edmonton 11-1 to start the third period before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal of the game, giving the Oilers their first lead of the afternoon. That tally was ultimately the game winner as the Sabres concluded their road trip with a 1-3-0 record.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. Edmonton improved to 21-6-1 in its last 28 games.

The Buffalo Sabres visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday afternoon. It concludes a four-game road trip for Buffalo which has seen losses in Seattle and Calgary sandwich Tuesday’s comeback victory in Vancouver.

Hopkins' second goal of the game snapped a tie with 11:01 left as the Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers overcame a barrage of Buffalo shots in the final two periods to beat the Sabres, 3-2, Saturday at Rogers Place.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice to help the Edmonton Oilers rally for a 3-2 win against the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

The Buffalo Sabres played pretty well on Saturday in Edmonton against the Oilers, but some of the same problems that have lost them hockey games all season long cropped up again. Paul Hamilton shares

Edmonton Oilers' forward Jeff Skinner has over 1,000 NHL games under his belt, but he is in uncharted territory right now.

Tage Thompson had taken a shot from the point, and Jiri Kulich was parked in front of the net battling for position. When the rebound bounced toward him, he kicked it toward the net attempting to get a stick on it.

My Oilers analysis Evan Bouchard has taken his shot generation to a completely different level of late, averaging 3.7 shots on 8.3 attempts over the last 10 games. That’s a significant jump from the 2.8 shots and 6.8 attempts he’s averaged on the season.

The Buffalo Sabres play in Edmonton on Saturday and will catch a break as the Oilers will be without Connor McDavid. Their superstar center is serving the last game of a three-game NHL suspension for cross checking Conor Garland in the face.

Thompson and JJ Peterka had hat tricks against the Bruins on Tuesday night — a good sign for Lindy Ruff's lineup tweaks.

How far down the Oilers' pecking order has Skinner dropped? He played 13:34 in Thursday's 6-2 win over Vancouver − and that was his biggest ice time total since Dec. 3.