BUFFALO, N.Y. _ Since reconvening for their second-half push to the playoffs, the Wild has had a knack for clawing back after falling behind.
But they haven't figured out how to turn these ties into leads, as another rally fizzled Tuesday in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Sabres in front of 16,847 at KeyBank Center that kept the team winless in its three games since an eight-day break.
Sabres winger Sam Reinhart scored the only goal in the shootout, wiring a shot by goalie Devan Dubnyk.
Before then, winger Zach Parise tied it at 4 with 1 minute, 37 seconds left in the third when he whacked in a loose puck _ this after Reinhart put the Sabres ahead 6:25 into the period when he directed in a Jake McCabe pass to continue a back-and-forth struggle.
A rising shot from center Evan Rodrigues on the power play just 4:31 into the first put the Sabres up 1-0, but that wasn't the only deficit the Wild suffered in the period.
Captain Mikko Koivu left the game and didn't return after colliding with winger Tage Thompson near center ice as he carried the puck up ice.
It looked like being down a center could be a tough hole to overcome considering how disjointed the team's attack was the rest of the first, but it was better in the second.
At 6:29, defenseman Jared Spurgeon tied it when he batted the puck out of midair past Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark.
The goal capped off a 10-1 edge in shots for the Wild to start the period, but the team's offense sputtered after that _ opening the door for the Sabres to pounce.
First, they retook the lead only 1:03 after Spurgeon's goal when winger C.J. Smith buried a Reinhart pass that sliced through a breakdown in the Wild's zone. And at 11:33, the Sabres converted their second power play goal on a shot through traffic by rookie defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
Buffalo finished 2-for-2 with the man advantage, while the Wild went 0-for-3.
Eventually, the Wild recalibrated and Spurgeon _ along with Koivu's revamped line � evened it at 3.
After accepting a handoff from winger Luke Kunin, who was promoted to work alongside winger Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle once Coyle took over at center for Koivu, Spurgeon scored off a wraparound at 13:43.
It was the Wild's first shot since Spurgeon's tally earlier in the period.
The goal was Spurgeon's 10th of the season, the third time in his career he's reached that plateau, and it continued to push him past 30 points _ also the third season he's surpassed that mark.
And with 2:55 to go in the second, Coyle crashed the net to finish off a shot by Kunin that hit the post.
Overall, the Wild amassed 19 shots on net in the frame.
But the momentum from that improvement couldn't sustain the Wild, as they couldn't grab the lead in the third or overtime.
Dubnyk ended up with 35 saves. Ullmark had 41 for Buffalo.
