Tuch and Dahlin help the Sabres beat the Golden Knights 4-3 in a shootout

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Alex Tuch scored the deciding goal in the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan McLeod, and Jason Zucker scored in regulation for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 16 saves and stopped two out of three Vegas shooters in the tiebreaker.

The Sabres had dropped seven of eight.

Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Golden Knights, who lost for the third time in four games. Adin Hill made 34 saves in regulation and overtime.

Vegas grabbed a 3-2 lead when Eichel scored with 2:33 left in the third. It was Eichel's 21st goal of the season.

Dahlin responded with his 12th goal for Buffalo with 13.6 seconds to play.

Sabres forward Jiri Kulich was injured at 9:25 of the second period after a hit from Howden.

Sabres: Playing without forwards J.J. Peterka and Josh Norris, Buffalo still outshot Vegas 37-21. Norris, who was acquired from Ottawa at the trade deadline, was out with an undisclosed injury.

Golden Knights: A day after signing a six-year, $37.5 million extension, Hill lost for just the second time in his last seven starts.

With Luukkonen pulled for the extra attacker, Dahlin’s slap shot from the blue line whistled past Hill and sent the game to overtime.

Dahlin became the first Sabres defenseman to tie a game in the last minute since Tyler Myers on Jan. 18, 2014, against Columbus.

The Sabres begin a four-game trip in Boston on Monday. The Golden Knights face the Red Wings on Sunday in Detroit.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) stops Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) puts the puck past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) for the game winning goal during a shootout in an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) is stopped by Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) during a shootout in an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) celebrates his goal with defenseman Bowen Byram (4) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Josh Berry raced to the first Cup Series victory of his career, taking NASCAR's oldest team to victory lane Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Berry, in his first season driving the famed No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, had the first victory for a Ford team through five races this season. William Byron opened the year with a Daytona 500 victory in a Chevrolet and Christopher Bell in a Toyota won the next three races.

Berry, meanwhile, had to run down Daniel Suarez following a restart with 19 laps remaining to take control. Although Harrison Burton won at Daytona last summer for the Wood Brothers, Berry's victory is the first not at a superspeedway since Ryan Blaney won for the team in 2017 at Pocono.

It was the 101st victory for the organization spanning 20 drivers.

Suarez in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing finished second, followed by Ryan Preece in a Ford for RFK Racing. Byron was fourth for Hendrick Motorsports, followed by Ross Chastain of Trackhouse, Austin Cindric of Team Penske and Alex Bowman of Hendrick.

AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing was eighth and Hendrick drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10.

Joey Logano had late control of the race until Las Vegas native Noah Gragson hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to bring out the ninth caution of the race. Berry was in second when the caution came out and second behind Suarez on the restart.

Berry won in his 53rd Cup race and just his fifth race with the Wood Brothers, the team that signed him when Stewart-Haas Racing shuttered at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old Tennessee driver was a 40-1 underdog to win Sunday's race and his win put the Wood Brothers back into the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Bell came to Las Vegas on a three-race winning streak with an opportunity to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races.

But his chance to extend his streak was stymied when Joe Gibbs Racing had to change the throttle body on the No. 20 Toyota after Bell qualified 13th and the penalty dropped him to the back of the field for the start of the race.

He never recovered in what was an overall subpar day for the four-driver JGR contingent.

Bell, who complained about the handling of his car most of the race, finished a team-high 12th. Only eight drivers have won four straight Cup races in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972.

Chase Briscoe was 17th and Ty Gibbs, who rolled a sprint car Saturday night at the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finished 22nd. Denny Hamlin, winner of more than $200,000 over two nights of playing slots in the Las Vegas casino, couldn't convert his luck to the track and finished 25th.

The Cup Series races next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track that had been in the playoff rotation the last three years but has now been moved to a spring race. Tyler Reddick won last October and Bell won in 2023.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Drivers restart racing after a yellow flag during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kyle Larson drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Josh Berry celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Christopher Bell speaks after his win in a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)