Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod scored on consecutive shots 83 seconds apart in the second period, and the Buffalo Sabres hung on for a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars after allowing two goals in the final 4:36 on Tuesday night.
Tage Thompson's goal put Buffalo up 3-0 at the 4:17 mark of the third period. Alex Tuch added an empty-netter with 11 second left. Defenseman Owen Power matched a career high with three assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves.
Jake Oettinger stopped 21 shots in losing his first start of the season. Thomas Harley spoiled Luukkonen's shutout bid on a shot that tipped off the stick of Buffalo forward Jason Zucker, and Tyler Seguin scored with 2:11 left with Oettinger pulled for an extra attacker.
Takeaways
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Stars: Dallas was, perhaps, riding too high coming off a 4-1 over the Oilers, who eliminated the Stars in the Western Conference finals last spring. Oettinger was sharp, while the team in front of him had too many breakdowns.
Sabres: By improving to 3-1-1 in its past five, this is the type of victory that begins validating the message and structure coach Lindy Ruff has preached since arriving for his second stint in Buffalo.
Key moment
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Luukkonen squaring up at the top of his crease to stop Miro Heiskanen’s blast from the top of the left circle, and then getting across to his left to prevent Jason Robertson from jamming in the rebound to preserve a 2-0 lead 1:35 into the third period.
Key stat
2 of 43 — The teams’ combined power-play production this season. Buffalo went 0 for 1 to drop to 0 of 22, while Dallas went 0 for 3 to drop to 2 of 21.
Up next
The Stars close a two-game swing at Boston on Thursday. The Sabres continue four-game homestand hosting Detroit on Saturday.
