Ryan McLeod extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-best four games and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves, lifting the host Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist, Peyton Krebs and Tage Thompson also scored and defenseman Owen Power matched a career high with three assists to send the Sabres to their second win in a row. Power also had three assists in Buffalo’s 7-6 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on April 6, 2023.
Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley trimmed his team’s deficit to 3-1 after his shot from the point deflected off the stick of Buffalo’s Jason Zucker and into the net with 4:36 remaining in the third period. Tyler Seguin scored from the doorstep with 2:12 to go in his return from an undisclosed injury before Tuch found the empty net to seal the win for Buffalo.
The Stars, who lost for the second time in three games, failed to score on their first three power plays before Buffalo finally broke the scoreless tie at 12:21 of the second period.
Power’s shot from the point was deflected off the crossbar and Krebs batted the puck out of the air and into the net. The goal was Krebs’ first of the season.
The Sabres doubled their advantage in short order.
Zucker reeled in a lead pass from Power and patiently waited for McLeod to gain a step on Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque. Zucker provided a nifty feed for McLeod before the latter beat Jake Oettinger (21 saves) from the doorstep. McLeod extended his point streak to a career-best five games (four goals, one assist), while Zucker’s assist was his fifth in his past five games.
Thompson executed a give-and-go with Power before the former beat Oettinger with a one-timer from the edge of the left circle to give Buffalo a 3-0 lead at 4:17 of the third period. With his team-best fifth goal of the season, Thompson extended his point streak to five games.
Harley kept the game scoreless midway into the first period following an alert defensive play. Harley effectively denied Sabres blue-liner Rasmus Dahlin’s bid to bank a shot off Oettinger by sweeping the puck away along the goal line.
