"Such a disgraceful franchise", "Sickening": NHL fans mock Buffalo Sabres for scoring an own goal with goalie pulled in final minute vs Utah HC

The Buffalo Sabres faced heavy criticism from NHL fans after scoring an own goal in the final minute of their 5-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night.

With the Sabres trailing 3-2 and having pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, Buffalo forward Tage Thompson attempted to pass the puck back to a teammate from behind the net during a delayed penalty.

However, the pass deflected off the side boards and slowly trickled into the empty Buffalo net at 18:50 of the third period. The goal was given to Utah forward Kevin Stenlund.

The blunder crushed any chance the Buffalo Sabres had at tying the game and elicited reactions from hockey fans on social media.

One fan wrote:

"they are such a disgraceful franchise"

Another fan wrote:

"Sickening."

Here are some fan reactions:

"It wouldn’t make sense for any other franchise and yet when you see it and see it’s Buffalo you kinda go “yeah I could see it” for some reason" one fan tweeted.

"No matter where the franchise is, seems like teams love own goals against these guys, geez" another fan wrote.

"Such a joke of an organization right now. Those fans don’t deserve this. Smh" a user commented.

"Such a sad reminder to us lifelong sabres fans that they've been terrible for 14 years" another user wrote.

Mikhail Sergachev (two goals), Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther also scored for Utah. Ryan McLeod and JJ Peterka scored for the Buffalo Sabres.

Karel Vejmelka has 25 saves for Utah, while James Reimer stopped 27 shots in the loss.

Tage Thompson's take on his own goal in the Buffalo Sabres' 5-2 loss to Utah

Tage Thompson explained that he didn’t realize there was a delayed penalty, which is why he sent the puck up high instead of pushing the play and forcing a Utah player to touch it.

"I was just trying to make a pass to the point there to [Dahlin]," Thompson said. "We got the puck and I wasn't really aware that there was a delayed call. So had that been the case, then yeah, I probably would have just tried to attack and shoot or make them touch it.“ (per NHL.com)

Thompson saw the opposing players sitting back and thought he had a lane to Dahlin at the top. He admitted the puck went through everyone, calling it a bad play on his part with an even worse outcome.

With the loss, the Buffalo Sabres now have a 27-34-6 record and sit last in the Atlantic division. They will look to bounce back when they face the Minnesota Wild on Friday.